The Bald and The Esper
by silenthero27
Summary: A rehash/retelling of the anime where a certain esper took the place of a certain cyborg we all know and love. Will the unlikely duo be able to co-exist like the two we're so accustomed to? Will it change them for the better, or worse? (Will have some changes and will have strong parallels with the anime. Cover image made by gintuk from DeviantArt.) SEASON 1 COMPLETE.
1. Fated Meeting

**This will be my first One Punch Man fanfic. Be nice with the reviews.**

 **A retelling of OPM where a cyborg didn't became Saitama's disciple but a certain esper. This will follow the anime storyline, not the manga or webcomics. However, some scenes that are shown only in the manga and webcomics would be added. Even so, it would primarily follow the anime's main storyline until season 1.**

 **As this is a rehash/retelling, there would be many similarities, some subtle and some almost the same. This will tailor much to the theme of the anime and so there would be some changes. There would be changes in some of the character's canon backstories or some scenes adjusted to fit with the theme. Some would be switched where a specific character was supposed to be there. Also, this is not a pairing story in general since I'm not very good at those. Just take whatever the story presents and leave it at that.**

 **The narration of the story would veer into introspection in some parts. It may perhaps be long (or boring I might say) but it's needed for the story and plot. Simply bear with it. The POV of the story would mainly focus on Tatsumaki than any other as I find her view to be more interesting and down-to-earth. With this, her story would be shown more.**

 **This will only last until season 1. I've read both the manga and the webcomics but even so, I won't promise anything except I would finish this. Don't fret if the updates aren't consistent. I'm just doing this for fun. ;b**

 **Let's begin. Saitama is getting irritated by the rather long introduction.**

 _ **Read. Enjoy. Review.**_

* * *

 **THE BALD AND THE ESPER**

 **By silenthero**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Fated Meeting**

* * *

"Tsk. I hate bugs. Why does it have to be bugs?" A girl said irritably. She has green hair that curls up on the ends and wears a tight fitting black dress with long sleeves and four high-cut slits.

"I came to this city and what greeted me at the roadside? Dead cows. Some welcome this city has."

A black mist appeared from the horizon and it amassed into a ball.

She smirked.

"Pest sighted."

x-x-x

 _No resident is to go outside under any circumstances._

 _I repeat: no resident is to go outside under any circumstances._

The citywide alarm continued on and on as if no one has heard the announcement. Recently, there was a swarm of mosquitoes so thick in volume that it acted like a living mists flowing. Anyone who was passed by the ravenous swarm was reduced to a mere skin and bones. Due to this, the city streets were empty. Businesses, traffic, and even sound stopped from its daily course. Everyone was afraid to go outside.

Except for a lone thief.

"Gah! Thanks to that warning, they're all empty!" a man said in triumph as he walked out from a store. All it took was a crowbar and a little manual labor for collecting all things worth more than his safety.

He turned to his huge bag of plundered goods, leaning his trusty crowbar on his shoulder. "What's losing a little blood if I get all this?"

Suddenly, a quick breeze passed by. It took out his bonnet and it flew away to the sky.

"The wind…?" he said, bewildered. He then felt there was something slithering under his clothes. "What the-"

Upon noticing what was happening, he quickly thrashed around. He fought desperately, swinging his crowbar left and right to somehow ward off the invasive mist.

The black mist finally covered him despite him thrashing around. In close inspection, thousands upon thousands of mosquitoes covered every centimeter of his skin to suck his blood dry. If it was painful or not, no one has survived to tell the experience.

After a few seconds, the swarm flew away leaving a desiccated, thin man in its wake. The mosquitoes formed a sphere with a scarlet core. It scattered once again and it revealed a being of a half-woman, half mosquito hybrid. She was monstrous in appearance but strangely she has beautiful features that can seduce and charm.

"Come on, guys. That wasn't nearly enough." The mosquito woman complained rather sassily. True, she enjoyed what little blood she got but it made her thirstier. Cow blood wasn't the same as human blood. For some reason, human blood was more delectable than livestock or poultry, though she was pretty sure they're in same category.

"Pest sighted."

"Huh?"

A truck come flying towards the monster at surprising speed. However, she turned around and slashed it, metal parts rained on the street. Mosquito Girl looked down and saw a girl.

"I see now." The green haired girl said. "You order these mosquitoes for blood and you'll take all their hard work. Seems like a very lazy thing to do."

"Hmm? And what's a kid doing in here all alone?"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAID?! I'm 22 years old and I'm not a kid!" the girl snapped. "I'm the great esper Tatsumaki! All I have to do is squish you and everything's back to normal!"

"Oh? Such audacity for such a little girl. Children, our next meal is here. Go drain her dry." She ordered

The swarm descended upon the esper and started enveloping her.

"Disgusting." A dome of green light expanded and it expelled every insect. The monster looked on curiously.

"All I have to do is cover myself with my powers and I won't get sucked by your disgusting kind." The esper said, staring back. "Prepare to be squished."

"You, squish me?" scoffed the monster. "Go on and try!"

Tatsumaki raised an unfurled hand and a green outline formed on the monster. "Then I'll do it." She quickly closed her hand to a fist and the green outline suddenly shrank into a ball in sync with her hand, effectively crushing what's inside.

"There, problem solved."

…

"Oh, I think not!"

The esper turned over her shoulder and to her surprise saw the monster about to strike. She quickly formed a green barrier as a shield and razor sharp claws slashed deep into it.

"You're not a weakling brat after all," taunted the mosquito girl.

With a grunt, the esper blasted the monster away with a telekinetic blast.

 _What happened earlier?_ Tatsumaki looked back at the green ball hung suspended in the air. She dissipated it and saw nothing inside.

"I have telepathy too." The flying Mosquito Girl said, tapping her temple. "I use it to control my minions. You can't control me if I severed the link between us. You can't even track me with your eyes, actual or otherwise."

"Thanks for explaining. I'll try the manual way." The esper lifted two cars using telekinesis.

"Espers. I haven't tasted a human with superpowers before. I guess I'll find out." The monster dove for an attack. The cars hovering in the air smashed her from the sides. It shortly turned into metal scraps by her claws and she continued her descent. She met some resistance along the way in the form of many debris hurled at her but she dodged every single one of them without compromise in speed.

Aiming her sharp antennae to the girl's head, she grinned in anticipation.

The attack landed. The antennae ripped through and a horrendous green thing hung on its end.

The mosquito queen smiled from her attack but then frowned. Squinting, she saw a head alright but only in shape. It was neon green and it was emitting a glow that pulsed brighter in every second. "Wait. What – "

"Boom." A finger snapped and a catastrophic explosion occurred in the air.

"Astral Duplication." The esper said, standing completely unfazed. "I can leave a remnant that act as a bomb in my place. Guess you didn't expect that." She lifted debris from the street and hurled it to her flying enemy. "You're still alive. No need to escape from me."

The monster flew higher to avoid the speeding projectiles. "Tsk. What the hell is wrong with that brat? I need reinforcements. Come, my children! Give all your blood to me!"

A swarm much bigger than before appeared out of the forest and the neighboring cities, and it engulfed their queen.

Tatsumaki looked on. _She's been collecting blood all over the place and not on this city alone. It may strengthen her if she gets too many. I need to finish this quick before she gets too strong._

From out of nowhere, a bald man wearing a plain yellow shirt and olive drab shorts ran towards her, "Get back here, dammit! You and I aren't done yet! _"_ He was carrying what appeared to be a bug spray and was chasing something. "Ack! It's in my mouth!"

Tatsumaki blinked. _What's with this baldy?_ _Wait. I think I've seen this guy before._

"Huh? What's that squirming over there? It's… mosquitoes?" The bald man said quite surprised.

"Hey, you there. Get out while you still can," warned the esper. "That swarm will drain you dry if it saw you."

"…Seriously?" He was more dumbstruck than terrified.

 _What's with this reaction?!_

"Well, I better go –"

The sky darkened. An enormous dark cloud descended and it covered the whole street. It turned into a torrent of flowing destruction towards the city.

"This again." A green light pierced out from the thick swarm and a dome quickly expanded, effectively repelling the insects away.

"You never learn, do you?" The esper said, annoyed. "You are still a bug. I just said your insect attack doesn't work on me. There are no other people here for you to -"

 _Wait. What happened to that guy?_

"Man, you saved me. You're amazing." The man simply said, scratching his bald head.

The esper turned around. The man looked completely fine which was very strange.

"What did you just do earlier?" the man asked. "You totally repelled the bugs out!"

The esper looked in bewilderment. _How did he prevent from being knocked back?_

"Oh, I was just trying to make a joke of you being a bug repellant, but…"

"HAHAHAHA! Idiots!" The mosquito queen laughed, emerging from the mosquito swarm. There was a definite change in her form, deadlier and more imposing. Her color scheme turned blood red and her claws became sharper and longer than before. "They did their jobs so I don't need them anymore!" She slashed a building from a far but it managed to slice through, demolishing it completely.

The esper looked on unperturbed at the monster's display of skill. _I was right earlier. Not that it changes anything._

"Hey, brat. You said I never learn but you never learn too."

"What do you mean by…" Tatsumaki's vision crossed and she blinked heavily. She was feeling very nauseous and the world was spiraling in her eyes.

 _What. What's happening…_

"When I said they did their jobs, I meant you. There is poison in some of my mosquitoes. I snuck a few to inject you while you are busy talking. You'll never notice them since they're quite sneaky to begin with. Guess you didn't expect that, did you?"

Tatsumaki wobbled. _I let my guard down!_

"Time to finish this!" The mosquito queen blurred out and appeared behind Tatsumaki. The monster quickly swiped her razor sharp claw at the esper but the esper managed to dodge it in time.

The esper was about to counter with a psychic blast, but before she did so the mosquito queen grabbed her and tossed her upwards towards the sky.

Tatsumaki can only envelop herself with a protective green barrier while the monster swiped and dived at her.

"Eh? Can't fight while in mid-air, brat?" mocked the monster.

True, it was very hard to defend and attack at the same time, not to mention Tatsumaki was having a hell of a headache. She can't perform a duplication again given the situation. The poison was weakening her energy to the point she can't think straight.

The monster continued her attacks, swiping and diving on and on. "Weakling spoiled brat!"

To the esper's horror, the barrier showed cracks. She was losing concentration in her only line of defense.

After the monster's next attack, the barrier finally shattered and it vanished.

"I think I'll be having your real head now!" exclaimed the monster, sadistic glee in her eyes.

 _It's no use. I can't win._

 _Mom. Dad._

 _Fubuki._

 _I - I'm sorry._

 _I… I'll be seeing you shortly._

…

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA–"

A loud splat echoed around the city as a violent gust of wind blasted through the monster, hitting her squarely on the cheeks. Dusts flew in the air and blood painted the buildings. The attack was so strong that it managed to divide the clouds above and the ground beneath.

Tatsumaki's eyes widened. The monster simply disintegrated out of existence. She noticed the man from before slapped the hell out of the monster with such force that the only evidence was a blood splatter across a building.

With her energy depleted, she was still hurtling towards the ground but then felt someone catch her.

Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the bald man from before carrying her in his arms.

"Mosquitoes… suck. Get it?" the man said, trying to make a point.

"Who… who are you?"

"Oh, it's Saitama. Nice to meet you."

"H-how did you…" the esper's voice trailed and she lost consciousness.

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **I don't have much to say since I've said everything before the chapter.**

 **Except reviews are appreciated. It makes Saitama's bald head even shinier.**


	2. Girl Meets Boy

**Chapter 2: Girl Meets Boy**

* * *

" _Why? Why do you always scare them away?"_

" _Don't you see it? They're taking advantage of you. Look at yourself. They're only entertaining themselves watching you fool around. Stop it."_

" _B-But…"_

" _They're laughing at me too. Be strong by yourself. Stand firm. Don't let them distract you. It's better that way. You don't need anyone else." The girl walked away._

" _I… I… I don't need you too."_

x-x-x

Tatsumaki woke up with a start. Her heart was racing and she was breathing heavily. She put up a hand to her forehead as her breathing evened out.

 _This has been occurring for weeks now. Nightmares. When will it end?_

She slowed her breath and she curled into a ball… and then it hit her.

 _Wait. Where am I? WHERE AM I?!_

She quickly swiped the bed sheets away and she sat up.

"Oh, you're awake."

The esper looked at the source of the voice and saw a bald man sitting down, eating from a cup of noodles. He was wearing a blue striped pajamas and he was watching the morning news about the disappearance of the mosquito swarm.

Everything seemed to rearrange itself in Tatsumaki's mind and she recalled everything what had happened.

Quickly grabbing the bed sheets and covering herself despite she was still dressed, she pointed an accusing finger at the man and exclaimed, "Hey! Don't you dare have any funny ideas, you hear me?!"

"Huh? I haven't done anything yet. All I did was I carried you back here in my apartment yesterday."

A blush formed on the esper's cheeks and smoke went out of her ears. "Y-You pervert!?"

"Is that how you thank a person? Relax, I didn't do anything. Believe me."

Tatsumaki hung her head low in embarrassment. He saved her life and this was what she said? She simply reacted out of instinct. Not really her fault.

 _This guy looked pretty suspicious. I really think I saw this man before._

"Won't you have malaria or something after yesterday?" the man asked tilting his head slightly.

"What? No, I don't feel any diseases in me."

"How did you know that?"

"I just know, okay."

The man made a face like it wasn't supposed to be that way.

"So, - Saitama, is it? Since you've saved my life, I think I owe you a favor."

"A favor? No, you don't need –"

"I OWE YOU A FAVOR!" the esper strongly repeated. "If a girl insisted she owe you then you must let her do it. I'll do everything to repay you except money. Just tell me."

Saitama made the same expression he did earlier.

"You… you are not one of those kind of _girls_ , are you?" he asked.

Tatsumaki was greatly perplexed. "What? What do you mean?"

Few seconds ticked by.

"…"

"…"

"…"

 _Did he mean…_

"Y-you pervert! I knew it!" Tatsumaki emitted a green aura and random objects began floating.

"HEY! Stop lifting my things! I just cleaned yesterday! Okay, it was last week, but that's not the point! You are dressed kinda weird to begin with!"

Tatsumaki looked down. "Huh? What's wrong with it?" she asked as she brought the things down.

"It's not exactly a dress you would see every day. I swear. I didn't mean to sound like that."

"I SAID what's wrong with it?! You find it ugly, is that it?"

Saitama facepalmed. "We're going nowhere here. And you haven't introduced yourself yet."

"Oh, I'm… I'm Tatsumaki." She said, lowering her head and feeling a little awkward. _This is the time I should shake his hand or say something nice._

"So, Tatsumaki, don't you have school or anything to attend to?"

A vein throbbed in the esper's head. "No, I don't." She answered barely managing to hide her temper from her tone. "So what's the favor?"

"Well, if you can pay my rent –"

"I said no money!"

Suddenly, the apartment window was smashed open and a praying mantis monster entered.

"Kyukyukyukyu!" laughed the monster and he posed for battle. "My name is… huh?"

A green outline formed on the monster and he was quickly thrown away back towards the sky. There was a sparkle when it reached a certain distance.

"Do you mind?! We're having a conversation here!" the esper complained. "Now then," she looked back at the bald guy and noticed he was gone.

"Hey. Where d'you go?" She momentarily closed her eyes to scan the area.

 _Ground floor. There are more of them. They have some sort of telepathy too._

Tatsumaki jumped out of the wide open wrecked window and slowly landed on the ground. What greeted her were two monsters half buried in the ground from the waist up, upside down, while the bald guy was standing between them.

"Don't bust other people's ceilings!" Saitama said, irritated.

 _Woah. He's fast._ "We still have unfinished business to take care of!" Tatsumaki loudly reminded him.

"Can you just go through the door like everybody else?" He said more to the monsters than her.

 _He's… he's ignoring me!_

Two sharp claws popped out from the ground. It grabbed Saitama's feet and pulled, quickly burying him up to neck level.

"Oh?" he muttered in surprise.

"Hey!" Tatsumaki raised a hand towards Saitama to pull him out. She channeled her energy to lift him up, but to her surprise, she can't lift him up, no – it was more that she couldn't control him at all. He wasn't covered by the familiar green outline.

 _What. What's going on?_

"No, it's okay." He assured her. "I kinda feel like… a bamboo shoot."

 _What?_

"Elevated energy levels detected."

A cyborg landed heavily behind Tatsumaki and the ground cracked.

"Who's this weirdo now?" she asked indignantly.

"You are not the target." The cyborg said in a robotic fashion.

"What going on? I can't see." Saitama craned his neck here and there but couldn't see the intruder in his situation.

"You are in the way!" The cyborg raised a fist and attacked the esper. Tatsumaki evaded it by hovering away. The cyborg quickly closed the distance and punched her again. A green barrier materialized between them, effectively blocking the attack

"You made a grave mistake by interrupting us." The green haired esper threatened. She blasted the cyborg away using telekinesis. The cyborg landed heavily on the road as she looked on, quite pissed.

The cyborg quickly jumped back at her. However, the esper nimbly hovered a few meters away, enough to evade it.

"I am the pinnacle of the House of Evolution's science." The cyborg stated, rising from the rubble. "I am Armored Gorilla. Your attacks mean nothing to me."

 _House of Evolution?_ "What do you want from us?"

"It's none of your business. And it is our rule to eliminate anyone who opposes us! I must destroy you!"

"Armored Gorilla. If I take out your armor you're only a simple gorilla. Hmph. Might as well do that."

The cyborg clenched both his fists and brought it down to her. The dust settled but he didn't see the little girl, except he noticed his arms were glowing green.

"Boom."

A catastrophic explosion occurred in the gorilla's arms and metal scraps flew everywhere.

"Now you don't have any arms." The esper said from a distance. "I have questions for you so I need you alive."

Armored Gorilla roared loudly. If he still has his arms, he would undoubtedly pound his fists to his chest. He ran towards the esper, planning to stomp on her. As he was to bring his foot down, it was enveloped by a green outline and his momentum stopped completely.

Some unseen force pulled his leg and he started circling violently like he was a lasso. Finally, the leg snapped at the root and he was launched towards the side of a building. He was about to get to his only one good leg when a green outline appeared on it. His remaining leg was compressed so severely that sparks and electricity went out of its joints.

Now, without any usable limbs left, the cyborg leaned on the brick wall, unable to do anything. His helmet suddenly popped upwards and it landed on his side. Looking ahead, he saw the green haired girl glowing green, her arm leveled at him.

"I have questions for you." The esper said rather grimly. "Answer or die. Your pick."

"It is you who would die." The limbless cyborg stubbornly answered. "I am the third most powerful being in the House of Evolution. As it is, you will never beat the Beast King, the second most powerful. You stand no chance."

"Is this what you mean?" Saitama suddenly appeared, holding a lion's tail.

Tatsumaki glanced at her side. _He took care of it._

The gorilla stared adamant at them for a moment, but he finally gave in. "...I-I'm sorry! P-Please don't kill me! I'll tell you everything!" He pleaded.

"What happened to your robotic voice?" Saitama asked as he tossed the lion's tail away.

"Oh, I only changed my voice so I would sound cool."

"Enough of this!" Tatsumaki exclaimed. "You! What is this House of Evolution? Why are you here?"

The limbless gorilla started telling them a long winded story about a prodigy scientist named Dr. Genus who founded an organization: its goal, its location and its origin. Since it would take time for his research, he renewed his youth by altering his aging by stopping it completely when it is in his prime. It started long ago and only now that he's making significant progress when he created clones of himself to help him out since no one wanted to help him with this endeavor.

The organization's aim is to improve the overall performance of the human body through genetic manipulation and DNA trans-species hybrids. Every animal has their own special traits and the scientist gathered every possible positive mutation to uplift the human body to its maximum potential. The first fruits of their labor came in the form of the animals they have enhanced and the gorilla was one of them. The method was not only limited to organic mutations. The gorilla was enhanced mechanically to bolster endurance and power and given additional features like able to communicate telepathically and replace "lost" limbs. The other animals have their own special abilities and they have their roles. Beast King has an immeasurable speed and fighting prowess overall; Ground Dragon can tunnel in the ground for surprise attacks; Armored Gorilla is for crowd control and manual labor. The other 3 were for scouting and reconnaissance.

The gorilla's monologue continued on and on and it was so long that Saitama began twitching. The cyborg was about to explain how they managed to find his location when Saitama finally snapped.

"Shut up! What's this supposed to do with me? Summarize it in 20 words or less, would ya! I don't have all day!"

Tatsumaki was thinking the same thing.

"O-Okay then. In short: My boss has become very curious about your body."

"I'm not interested in guys." Saitama deadpanned.

 _Well, at least he's not gay._ Tatsumaki inwardly thought. "You got it the wrong way. It means that he's curious how you got so strong." _Wait. I'm curious too._

"Is that it? They should have asked nicely. Sure, I'll go."

"What?! You're serious?" the esper asked incredulously.

"They're doing horrifying things and I'll try to stop them. Besides, they damaged my apartment. They have to pay for that."

"Oh."

Saitama then started walking back towards the apartment.

"Wait, where're you going?" the esper asked again.

"I need to wear my costume."

"Your... costume?"

"Yeah. I'm a hero for fun. I need it before I set out."

 _What kind of a backstory is that?_ "I'll come along then."

"You have a costume too?"

"NO! I mean I'll go with you to this House of Evolution! I still owe you a favor!"

"You really don't need –"

"I insist! End of discussion!"

Saitama simply shrugged and went inside the apartment.

 _This is bad. I need to contact HQ._ The gorilla's head opened halfway and it revealed a small satellite.

"Hey!"

The gorilla quickly shut his head transmitter close. "W-What?" he replied, afraid he might be caught.

"This House of Evolution: are they experimenting on live human subjects with psychic powers? Why do you have telepathy?" the esper asked.

"No, we only experiment on animals and human clones. We have telepathy but we use radio signals to communicate, not actual psychic powers."

"Good. I'll leave you alive for all you've said."

The gorilla sighed in relief.

The esper looked away from him and noticed a bald guy walking away. "Hey! Wait for me!"

She caught up with Saitama and looked at him up and down. The man was wearing a yellow jumpsuit with a short zipper line in the collar, red boots and red gloves. He has a belt with a circular golden buckle on his waist and a white cape over his back, clipped on the shoulders by two smooth buttons. However, due to its color scheme, it looked so nondescript and lacked fashion that it bordered to being horrendous.

 _That was a quick dress up._ "You're going now?" the esper asked the... caped baldy.

"Yeah. I can't do it tomorrow. There's a bargain sale I can't miss. Also, this House of Revolution is quite far."

 _Some valid reason. And it's... never mind. "_ Ok then, let's make this quick." _I'm also curious how you got this strong and why I can't control you with my power. This little adventure may enlighten me. I need to know._

The two then set out to the House of Evolution.

But before that, they stopped to eat breakfast as Saitama insisted he hasn't gotten his fill yet. Tatsumaki sweat-dropped but she were also hungry and couldn't deny it – if her rumbling stomach was any indication. They ate at some takoyaki stand and THEN set out to the House of Evolution.

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **Tatsumaki here is nerfed but not that badly. She will have new abilities that aren't canon but she's still a force to be reckoned with. Her telekinesis won't be the only move she'll rely on.**

 **As for the other character's fates: I can't tell it yet. They will have a role; some a crucial role for later plot. Just leave it at that.**

 **As for the reviews/favorites/follows: I didn't expect this story to have this many follows and favorites this early. People really like OPM! I really do appreciate it, even if it's a lengthy review or not. Really. Thanks. It's a first for me. Those type of things makes my day as a writer.**

 **As for this lengthy author's corner: Sorry! It can't be helped! Don't punch me! As it is, see you in the next chapter!**


	3. The House of Evolution (Part 1)

**Chapter 3: The House of Evolution (Part 1): Tatsumaki vs Carnage Kabuto**

* * *

"I didn't think YOU'D be running the whole way." Tatsumaki said to the bald man running beside her.

"How else am I gonna get there?"

"With your strength, I thought you could fly or something."

"Humans can't fly, you know. And I don't have psychic powers."

Tatsumaki stared leisurely at the running bald man. _Humans can't run that fast either, even for me._ Granted, she was flying but it was still weird watching someone run at high speeds without even breaking a sweat. His face was so blank that this routine feels normal for him.

It would have been easy to use her powers to carry him but for some reason she couldn't take hold of him. He can't be influenced no matter what. If she can put it into words, he is an immovable freak of nature and the big exemption of the universe. She could also just levitate a platform where he could stand on but she bet that he _and_ she wouldn't like that. After all, she is a girl, not a chauffeur or some slave.

"So where's this House of Revolution again?" the bald hero asked. "I forgot where it is. We weren't given a map."

"After we climbed over this cliff face, we'll see the building. It's in the middle of the freaking forest so it's very noticeable." _So much for a hidden base._

"Oh, okay then."

Saitama stepped on a boulder at the base of the cliff. He paused for a split second and he quickly launched upwards, the boulder smashed as a result. Tatsumaki could only look with bewilderment. _He could have just jumped his way here._

"Hey! Wait up!"

Tatsumaki landed beside Saitama at the front of a tall building. "Could you wait for a second? Do you want to be early or something?" she asked indignantly.

"Actually, I hardly ever arrive on time." Saitama simply answered.

Tatsumaki rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter. We're here. This is the place that weird gorilla told us of."

"So this is…"

"The House of Evolution." The esper finished. She was sure he would not pronounce it right again.

Saitama began pointing at the tall building. "One, two, three, four…"

The esper's eyes sharpened. _I don't have time for this._

"Looks like it's about eight stories high—"

The green haired girl suddenly blasted the building with a psychic blast that tore the building to shreds and turned it rubble that scattered all throughout. The building was destroyed completely from the face of the earth along with the surrounding forest.

"There, problem solved." she muttered.

"Uh… what was that all of a sudden?" Saitama asked, the smoke of the wreckage passing on his face.

"I just returned the favor. We're even now."

"Well, thanks but…" Saitama looked at the complete desolation in front of him. "We could have at least seen what the bad guys had in store for us. That was kind of mean."

"Kind of mean? We're here to destroy their base to begin with so I don't see the problem."

"No, I mean… Let's just make sure they're done for."

Tatsumaki harrumphed, "Hmph! Whatever."

The esper hovered around the wreckage. She didn't find any corpse or anything similar to an evil looking monster. It was pretty much a "clean" wipe-out. There's no trace of a laboratory or whatever base the enemy has. She was starting to think that she destroyed the wrong building. If that was the case then that stupid gorilla has a hell to pay for tricking her.

She then noticed a metal flooring. "What's this?" She scraped the metal like it was a flimsy sticker. "Hey, over here."

Saitama walked towards her.

"This looks like it leads to a basement." The esper said. "I'm sure the building was just a ruse."

"What for?" Saitama asked, tilting his head. "Could they just hide this entrance here instead of erecting a building on top of it?"

"Don't ask me. Well, come on. I still owe you if they're down there."

With a shrug (and after digging his nose due to dust), Saitama followed.

x-x-x

It took them quite a while to traverse down. It was a huge basement alright. Tatsumaki thought that upon entering there would be elevators present but no, it has to be stairs only. She didn't have a problem with it since she was hovering but she was starting to think that these bad guys lacked common sense whatsoever. There might be hidden elevators but come on, they could have thought of hiding the entrance the first place.

The two end up at a long straight corridor. There were now lights lined up on each wall and it gave them the idea this was the main entrance.

"I'm getting kind of fired up." The bald guy said while walking.

"How so?"

"If they did all this then it means they're kind of a bigshot."

The esper stopped moving.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"I can sense someone approaching. Two of them specifically."

The lighting on the corridor's end began blacking out one by one. Shards of glass started cracking around the corridor and it echoed nearer and nearer.

A huge monster, clutching a man in his right hand, was marching at them at surprising speed. Upon seeing the two, the monster quickly slammed its huge left arm at the green haired girl to the wall so quickly it was a blur.

"Hey. Where have you gone?" Saitama asked, his head turning sideways.

The monster towered behind him. It was a large brass colored half beetle, half human monstrosity. He was large that he almost filled the tunnel's height and width.

"I am Carnage Kabuto!" greeted the monster. "We got a combat experimentation room! Let's do it there."

"Hey! That's not a way how you treat your guests! The fight's on!" Saitama replied.

The monster grinned ear to ear. He dropped the man in his hand and started running back as Saitama followed.

x-x-x

"Pretty big, eh? It's the biggest room in the facility." The monster proclaimed proudly.

True to his words, the brightly lit room was massive. It was pure white and mostly made up of square tiles all around. It was easily the biggest empty room that Saitama had been in. At the back of his head, he wondered how they would clean such a large space.

"This is where they make us fight to test our combat abilities." The monster's eyes then squinted maliciously. "Well then, let's start the killing —" An explosion occurred in the right side of his head. He looked to his side and noticed a girl standing at the entrance. "Oh? You're still alive?"

The esper stood still, her eyes sharp. She was able to make a duplicate from the monster's earlier attack but she couldn't detonate it even if she wanted to. They were in a tunnel and blasting it would bury them all alive. Still, she was very pissed that she got that kind of greeting like she didn't exist at all.

Oh, he would pay for his insolence.

Tatsumaki threw a ball of energy towards Carnage Kabuto and she dashed in a semi-circle around the monster, leaving green orbs of energy at her trail. The energy ball she sent earlier went to the monster's face and in the monster's arrogance didn't try to dodge or block it. Instead of it detonating, the ball of energy released an intense glow of light, fully blinding him.

Carnage Kabuto shielded his eyes with his hands instinctively.

"No, you won't." The esper raised both her hands towards him and a green outline formed on the monster's arms. She parted it, extending his arms and thus exposing the monster's face.

"Astral Bombardment." _S_ everal orbs of energy rained down on the monster mercilessly, bombarding him continuously. She would have liked to tear his arms off right then and there but she discovered she couldn't detach nor crush it due to his fortitude. There are no debris or rubble in the room to throw at him so it's the old fashioned blast-a-monster routine. It's more work but it's more destructive and the monster really pissed the hell out of her.

The smoke finally subsided and it revealed Carnage Kabuto looking unfazed. He flexed his arms back and the green outline surrounding it shattered.

"Stupid little girl! Is that all you've got?!" the monster taunted.

Gritting her teeth, Tatsumaki dashed towards the monster. _Screw long range attacks. His armor is tough but I'm sure there are sections that are his weak points. I can't control him. He's using brute force to counter it. I just need to get close and personal to make this work._

She quickly appeared near the monster's arm and she touched between the sections of his carapace plating, making it glow green.

 _His joints. That is his weak spot._

The esper blurred in and out around his body until most of his joints were glowing green.

 _Now his head._

Tatsumaki was about to touch his head when she noticed a big fist coming straight at her. She quickly formed a barrier but it shattered quickly. The attack landed on her but fortunately, the fist's momentum was now weak and she engulfed herself with an energy lining around her to make a second line of defense.

Still, she was blasted a distance away from the monster and then felt her back hit something. Staring behind her, she saw the bald man holding her squarely on the shoulder.

"You disappeared all of a sudden." Saitama said. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She shrugged her shoulders away from him, and then snapped her fingers. "Astral Implosions."

Explosions after explosions occurred around the monster's body. Tatsumaki could hear cracking sound from time to time. There were bits and pieces of carapace flying all across the room.

"Woah, that's cool." Saitama said, staring at the bombing galore. "You can make him explode by simply touching him."

"I need to personally touch him to place concentrated psychic bombs on his body. I use it in my remnants too." She explained.

"That's nice."

 _However, it took a lot from me to do this. I can't keep doing it all the time. It makes me exposed and my defense is weak. Not something I would gamble on._

After the smoke subsided, there was a huge chunk of broken husk in the middle upon close inspection. It was not moving but it didn't felt that it was dead either.

 _What the hell happened —_

A loud laughter echoed around the room. "HAHAHAHA! My old armor is kinda heavy so I need a new one! Thanks for helping me get rid of it!" The monster said from across the room.

"What?! He molted!" Tatsumaki exclaimed disbelievingly.

"I feel lighter now. When was the last time I shed my shell?"

"Then you're weaker now too." The esper spat.

"No, little runt! This is much tougher than the last one! Your pretty fireworks can't even make a scratch on it. I think I look better now." Carnage Kabuto then made some macho poses.

"Uhh, you still looked the same, you know." Saitama pointed out. He noticed a green aura strongly emitting behind him and looked at it. Tatsumaki has her head low, eyes hidden by her hair. "Hey, you okay? Don't push yourself too hard."

"Why don't you just give up and DIE already?!" Tatsumaki screeched. _He called me a little runt! A LITTLE RUNT!?_ Her hands began to glow an intense white green and the light extended to a sharp point. "I'll just cut off your head then!"

She dashed again, leaving a trail of green light. In his arrogance again, Carnage Kabuto didn't move nor did anything.

The esper quickly spun around and slashed the monster's neck with her bare hand. But it didn't slice through nor did it bit deep.

"What –"

"Stupid brat!" Carnage Kabuto inhaled deeply and blew Tatsumaki away with his breath alone. It was so strong that the esper couldn't fight it.

Tatsumaki was blown away again, spinning erratically.

Finally, she landed again on the bald man and he clutched her shoulders from behind.

"Should I ask again?" Saitama cradled her in his arms and settled her on the ground. "Wait, your hair!"

Tatsumaki's usual curled hair was jutting from all directions, making her look like having a medusa's head. There were spirals in place of her eyes and her head was bobbing up and down.

"Now you've gotten my hopes up." Saitama said under his breath with determination.

The esper woke up from her dizziness. "W-wait. I'm not done yet."

Saitama sighed. He pulled a piece of paper tucked in his belt and handed it to her. "Please do me a favor and hold this one for me."

"W-What's this?"

"It's something important: bargain coupons."

Tatsumaki's eyebrows dug deep. _What?_ "I can still fight."

"No, it's okay. Let me handle this." Saitama stood straight. "I'll teach him some manners how to greet a proper lady like you."

 _A p-proper... lady?_

In her whole life, Tatsumaki was always mistaken as a kid, a little girl, a brat or a runt due to her diminutive stature. But no one has ever called her a proper lady before. She wasn't properly behaved at times to be honest but him calling her a lady, something resounded within her.

Staring at Saitama walking towards the monster, she could feel there's something different about him. She wasn't sure why but she was seeing was a different man altogether.

Now in front of her was Saitama, wearing a ridiculous campy costume, about to fight someone who she couldn't easily defeat. She hasn't seen him fight before and the only attack she had seen from him was a slap, and it was enough to defeat the mosquito monster that nearly killed her.

It was quite embarrassing, really, since she became so overly confident in that fight and it nearly cost her life. She knew she was better than that but without his interference, she would die from a pathetic mosquito monster and she would bear that agonizing shame to the afterlife. She hoped that she could return the favor by beating this freak of a monster for him but the monster proved too much to handle. It was frustrating and galling, but she realized that she'll witness him fight for the first time.

Indeed, she was curious as much as the scientist's described by the gorilla. If the bald man made short work of that Beast King, whom the gorilla said to be the second most powerful, then this fight against the strongest would be very noteworthy. This will paved a way to understand the man that appeared to be so comical in nature.

Tatsumaki clutched the paper but not enough to make creases on it. If it's something that's important to him, even how simple it is, she would not treat it so carelessly.

 _Show me how strong you are. Prove to me what a hero really is._

* * *

 **Authors: Corner:** **I made a noticeably different Tatsumaki here. Her canon psychic powers are kinda boring to me (not to mention very OP) so I changed her moveset to make it more flashy. She can also fight in close combat rather effectively. The green light in her hands near the chapter's end is like Zeratul's warp blade from Starcraft 2 (just look it up on Google how cool it would look on her). It's called Astral Edge in her combat repertoire. She has the habit to give names to her moves much like Genos or any characters out there.**

 **I hope I didn't confuse readers with the fight scene or if they appear to be out-of-character too much. It's my first to write such a story so bear with me. I wonder what the fight scene would look like if it's animated.**

 **Well, reviews are always appreciated and see you in the next chapter!**


	4. The House of Evolution (Part 2)

**Chapter 4: The House of Evolution (Part 2): Saitama vs Carnage Kabuto**

* * *

"Oi! What's the hold up? Let's go!" Carnage Kabuto complained. "Bring everything you've got!"

Tatsumaki could feel her blood boil again while Saitama continued blissfully in his walk.

"Oh, I see it! I see it! You're supposed to be strong."

"Don't disappoint me now." Saitama said. The esper noticed that his tone too have changed, though she might have imagined it. "You're this place's ultimate weapon, right? You're clearly not the same as the guys from this morning. Look at you, just oozing with confidence."

The monster grinned widely to prove his point. Tatsumaki somehow felt a little guilty. She wasn't like that freak monster but she did show some flashes of arrogance from time to time. She could have done so much more than this. His rebuke became more stinging when she can't accept the fact that she was defeated. Ego or pride, for what those words meant, have driven her life so far and helped her to cope with the harsh realities of life.

It would be very anticlimactic indeed if this bald guy couldn't back it up with action and died on those words.

Carnage Kabuto suddenly blurred out and started running at high speeds.

 _For such a large monster he's very fast._

The monster appeared behind Saitama, intending to launch the first strike. However, he hesitated for a split second and he jumped away to the farthest side of the room. It was more of a retreat than a tactical positioning with how much distance he made.

 _He backed away? What the heck happened?_

Saitama turned around. "Huh? What are you doing?"

There was a worried expression on the monster that he looked like he avoided certain death. "YOU BASTARD!" he screamed. "How the hell did you get that strong?!"

 _H-He knew?_

"So you wanna know too?" Saitama asked.

"…"

"Okay, fine."

 _What? Just like that he'll say it? I should have asked him before!_

"I'd like to know too," a voice rang in. A man in tattered clothing appeared, clutching his wounded right arm.

"Huh? Who are you?" Saitama asked.

"I am Genus." The man answered, clearly in pain from his injury. "The scientist who is in charge of this organization. I'm also curious about your strength."

"Well, fine. Listen up too, Genius."

 _The man just introduced himself and he pronounced it wrong already? Wait. This is the man the monster was clutching earlier. Is it safe to reveal his secrets to this man?_

Saitama cleared his throat. "First, what's important is, to make sure to stick to this intense training regimen."

 _Training? He wasn't born with his strength or any unusual powers?_

"You just have to keep doing it. No matter how hard it gets. It took me three years to get this strong."

 _Three years? It took most people half their lives to be remotely strong, but three years?! What kind of –_

"One hundred push-ups! One hundred sit-ups! One hundred squats! Then a ten kilometer run. Every single day. For three years!"

 _Is… Is he serious?_

"And of course, make sure you eat three meals a day. Just a banana in the morning is fine. But the most important thing is to never use the A/C or heat in the summer or winter so that you can strengthen the mind."

…

"In the beginning, you'll wish you were dead. You might start thinking what's the harm of taking a day off? But for me, in order to be a strong hero, no matter how tough it was, even if I was spitting blood, I never stopped."

 _A strong hero…_

"I kept doing squats even when my legs were so heavy they refused to move. Even when my arms started making weird clicking noises, I kept doing push-ups. A year and a half later, I started to notice a difference. I was bald."

 _Bald._

"And I had become stronger! In other words, you gotta train like hell to the point where your hair falls out. That's the only way to become strong."

 _Only way…_

"The guys that are fooling around with the "new human race" and evolution junk will never make it this far. Human beings are strong because we have the ability to change ourselves."

 _..._

Saitama crossed his arms after his speech, looking quite pleased, as Tatsumaki hung her head low.

 _You are…_

"You are… you are so FULL OF CRAP!" she screamed at him.

"Eh?"

"That is nothing but normal exercises in TV advertisements! And it's not even a decent training to begin with!" Tatsumaki clenched her hand to a fist, crumpling the paper. "My sister… my sister and I got experimented by power hungry bastards when we were young and you're telling me you got strong because of that ridiculous method! That I can't use my powers on you because you've trained your MIND on some freaking AIR CONDITIONER!

"Cut the CRAP already! You're clearly stronger than what you get from that so-called training! I WANT TO KNOW YOUR TRUE SECRET!"

The green haired esper was breathing heavily, her eyes welling with tears of frustration. She made an effort to not let the tears flow down upon remembering her past and her younger sister.

 _Fubuki. It's just not fair!_

"I'm really sorry to hear your story but…" Saitama looked at Tatsumaki in the eye with a somber expression. "You may not believe me, but that's really all I did."

Tatsumaki blinked back the sudden tears. "W-what?"

"Oh yeah." Carnage Kabuto stepped forward, his tone menacing.

"No! Carnage Kabuto!" Genus exclaimed in horror.

"If you don't wanna tell us your secret… so be it." The monster clenched his hands tightly, veins appearing all over his body. There was a sudden increase of his bulk, some carapace popping out from the change.

"STOP! You'll go on another rampage!"

Red lights suddenly flooded the room and a warning siren blared on. Tatsumaki woke up from her shock and noticed the only entrance closing.

"I bet you aren't stronger than me anyway!" The monster's features began changing. He turned into a deep cobalt blue and the vein lining on his skin glowed into neon green. His single horn sharpened, his fangs became apparent on his face, and his eyes turned bloodshot. The bulk of his body continued to increase.

"But, since you pissed me off, I'm gonna annihilate you." The monster heavily stomped on the ground. "CARNAGE MODE!"

The whole room changed into its lockdown status. The walls and floors turned into a scarlet color, strengthening the integrity of its foundation. In its high red alert status, no one would be able to leave the room until the threat disappeared.

Despite of the growing ominous atmosphere and situation, Saitama kept a calm and detached demeanor.

"When I get like this I lose control for a whole week and my lust for death cannot be quelled!" The monster exclaimed, now towering over Saitama even more. "After I kill you, I'll head into town and go on a killing rampage until next Saturday!"

Saitama audibly gasped upon hearing the last word.

"If you are indeed a strong hero, then try and stop me!" The monster then roared wildly. The next thing that happened was a fist hitting the bald man right to the face. He torpedoed straight towards the wall and he bounced off. The monster followed him and continued landing tremendous blows on him. The victim didn't even bother to dodge or block but instead absorbed all the punishment.

Tatsumaki winced from the onslaught. She wanted personally to smack Saitama and his bald head for his absolute nonsense speech earlier, but he doesn't deserve this savage beating. The monster was clearly leagues ahead from his earlier form and she couldn't withstand all those punishment. With all honesty, she would have a time dealing with this monster even if she went all out. The only man who could defeat this demon was Saitama, who seemed to be perfectly fine to be a living target.

The monster aimed his sharp horn at the caped hero and launched towards him, excited at the prospect of seeing his innards and blood.

Before the attack connected, Saitama unleashed a loud shout, "BARGAIN DAY AT THE SUPERMARKET!" He launched a single punch at the monster which in turn exploded in green blood and blue gore. Carnage Kabuto, whatever remained of him, landed on the floor, dead and in pieces as the room reverted back to its normal state.

Tatsumaki could only look in suprise. By a single punch he defeated the monster, the same monster that she had so much trouble dealing with. If she had blinked, she might have missed it altogether.

Saitama kneeled on the ground and clutched his head in agony. "I screwed up!"

 _Bargain day?_ Tatsumaki unfurled the crumpled paper in her hand. _So that's what he means._ She walked towards the also dumbstruck scientist and showed the paper to him. "I think this is what he's referring to. Today's the bargain sale. He thought it was tomorrow."

The scientist could not look more dumbfounded that he already is.

Tatsumaki walked towards the kneeling, grieving hero. "Hey," she called him, "your coupon here says the bargain ends at 6 pm. It's around noon and we took 4 hours to get here. If you hurry back, you could still catch it."

Saitama quickly got up on his feet. "Really? I'll make it if I hurry?"

"That's what I said." Tatsumaki handed his precious coupon back, unable to meet him in the eye.

Saitama grabbed the paper. "Well I better hurry now!"

"Uhh, yeah. I'm also looking for a place to stay in the city," she said in a low voice. The esper looked at him and noticed he was running towards a wall.

"Hey! That's not—"

Saitama punched the wall and his punch created a massive hole, showing the outside scenery.

 _That works too._

"Wait up!" Tatsumaki turned back her gaze. The scientist was standing straight, staring at the huge exit dumbfounded as if the expression got stuck on his face.

Could she leave this man alive? They were here to stop this man's schemes, but because of a silly bargain sale Saitama somehow forgot all about it.

A smile then appeared on Genus' face. It was a smile without the usual malice Tatsumaki had seen from countless mad scientists before. It was a smile of contentment, like he had enough of the things he recklessly pursued; a new beginning, a new outlook in life.

She decided to spare him and leave him be. He won't be the same person as before after all this. She was sure that this was a dawning experience for him.

It could also be said of her.

 _Human beings are strong because we have the ability to change ourselves._

 _Hey sis! I know things would get better so cheer up!_

Tatsumaki sighed. _Would you believe that too?_

She flew outside, a small smile in her lips.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

 _I'm still curious about that man, though._

* * *

 _Nee, hayaku kaette kite ne?_

Sorry! I can't resist!

 **Author's Corner:** **What did you expect from a fight if it's against our favorite bald hero? ONE PUUUUUUUUUUUNCH! Well, that's it for this mini arc!**

 **Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/follows so far! Shout-out to** _ **The One Who Reads Too Much**_ **for the helpful review. Typos and grammatical errors are my thing and English isn't my first language so a little advice here and there is appreciated.**

 **As always, reviews are appreciated and see you in the next chapter!**

* * *

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"So... when you said you're looking for a place to stay." Saitama said while holding a plastic bag of groceries. He was standing in front of an opened doorway of the apartment unit next to his. He was delighted that he was able to catch the bargain sale and the items he aimed for weren't sold out yet.

The only thing he didn't expect was when he returned home he would see hovering things entering the next door of his apartment. The floating objects were arranging themselves in the room quite nicely in fact. It was tastefully designed but of course, it was very weird watching how the green haired girl could make this look so easy.

If only he could clean his apartment in this manner.

"Yeah, so?" Tatsumaki stared at him at the corner of her eyes.

"What happened to the previous tenant here?"

"...You can't prove anything." At this, the esper slammed the door closed on the bald guy's face.


	5. Heroes or Weidoes?

**Chapter 5: Heroes or Weirdoes?**

* * *

Tatsumaki woke up from another nightmarish sleep. She was having those damned dreams again where she can't remember it but made her feel horrible first thing in the morning. It only rests the body, not the mind. If only she could just stop dreaming altogether.

People say that one has the power to control one's dream through some technique but her dreams were different. It felt like she was a totally different person and she couldn't recall if it was real or not. All of it would just vanish seconds after she woke up. The dreams were gone but the crappy feeling stayed.

 _Dammit._

The esper sat up straight from her bed. Instinctively, she scratched her medusa like bed head. She snapped her fingers and in an instant her messy hair was properly groomed, turning to its usual curly hairstyle.

Looking around in her new apartment unit, she recalled that she rented this yesterday. After all those bizarre and mind blowing things happened before that errand, all she could ever think was…

 _Man, this place is cramped._

Of all the units in the apartment, the one unit beside the bald man's was occupied and the rest were empty. It didn't take her long to take that lone spot. A simple reminder that she took care of the horrible monsters that attacked yesterday and a simple limbless gorilla as a witness had gotten her point across. A man whose name and looks Tatsumaki did not care to remember was more than happy to leave and oblige. His only reason that he continued to stay here was because it's cheap and the rumors about monsters weren't exactly true, until some monsters attacked yesterday to prove otherwise. This prompted him to leave out of there once and for all. He left her some of his belongings out of thanks (or pity rather) and he left.

If only most people were always this cooperative. She wouldn't want to resort to violence out of sheer temptation. It's not a last resort, that she was sure.

Tatsumaki got out of the bed and rolled it along with the sheets using her powers. She was wearing a set of light green wool pajamas with patterns of swirly white clouds, although the clothes were slightly big on her. This made her look very childish and… irresistibly cute but she didn't care. It was comfortable as hell and she would sleep in it regardless. It was also her favorite set of clothes. It's not people would wear designer clothes in their sleep or get out fighting monsters with it.

The esper lazily floated towards her kitchenette and grabbed a box of panda cookies from one of the cabinets using her powers. The refrigerator opened and a carton of milk poured itself on a glass in one smooth motion. She was way too bummed to cook any food that resembles a normal breakfast.

After that, she returned with her instant breakfast floating beside her, plopped herself beside the small coffee table and pointed a finger to the TV. The TV came to life and suddenly a loud noise barraged inside the apartment.

It took all of Tatsumaki's ice thin patience from blasting the TV to smithereens. She endured the slow and very agonizing seconds of adjusting the volume from the highest to the most appropriate level.

 _Note to self: Never use the TV volume as a wake-up call in the morning. Use an alarm clock._

The TV greeted her with a program about the never-ending reports of accidents, more accidents and the occasional celebrity commercials that starred the ever present smug face of a hero known as Sweet Mask. Tatsumaki couldn't care less what products he was endorsing. Actually, he was looking more like he's endorsing himself than the actual product.

Panda cookies floated out of the box one by one and Tatsumaki would bite into it while it was still in mid-air and finished it with a drink.

She was bored no doubt.

The news channel flashed a picture of a bald guy named Hammerhead, a B-class criminal and leader of a terrorist group called the Paradisers. They destroyed a high-rise apartment building recently, causing panic and mayhem among the citizens. It was revealed by one of the eyewitnesses that the building wasn't the group's intended target and they simply made a mistake.

 _Hmm, I almost did that too._ Tatsumaki took a bite.

The organization's demand was that people who don't work would still get food, shelter and clothing from those who work. The rich should provide for the poor because they are liable for the ills of society.

 _Nice point, but you're stupid. End of discussion._ Another bite.

"Also, the group members all have shaven heads making them quite intimidating," the pretty news anchor continued.

A cookie dropped from mid-air while the esper thought about the information.

 _Bald head? Is he one of them? Is that why he looks so familiar?_

"Those who encounter any shaven-headed men on the street are advised to leave the area immediately."

 _No, of course not. He appears to be painfully plain and… that's all he is. He's damn strong too._

A thought passed through Tatsumaki's mind like lightning.

 _Yes, he's strong. Too strong._

She finished her breakfast and went to prepare her usual get-up.

 _I need to find that man whatever it takes._

x-x-x

Tatsumaki went next door and rang the doorbell.

"…"

She rang the doorbell again and knocked on the door.

"…"

She rang the doorbell again and started pounding the door.

"Hey! You have a guest so open up!"

"…"

She glowed green, planning to obliterate the stubborn door, but stopped.

 _No. I'll ask him for a favor so I need to have a good record. Maybe he's not here._

She sighed. She couldn't sense if he was inside because he "trained" his mind to tiptop condition on some freaking air conditioner. If he's asleep or not moving, she wouldn't know unless he made some noises.

 _Fine. I'll buy some groceries first. Oh, and a damned alarm clock._

x-x-x

That late afternoon, the green haired esper browsed the internet for whatever caught her fancy and to kill time. New manga chapters, celebrity gossips, recent accidents, and the latest craze sweeping across the globe flashed one by one on her laptop screen. It barely held any interest and she simply clicked randomly until an interesting topic or article rolled in.

As some luck would have it, she stumbled upon a site that describes City Z. She then realized that she should learn more about this rather obscure place.

City Z was located near the coastline and at the northern most part of the massive continent. Interestingly, it has one of the highest monster sightings among all the cities. It was in the coastline and was susceptible to foreign lifeforms. There were also petty criminals, terrorist groups and high rated assassins that pop up once every so often.

She recalled that City A is the hub and heart of humanity in terms of economy and business. It was only logical if City Z, the most recent city built, to be quite underdeveloped. There were neighborhoods that were completely abandoned, giving it an eerie feeling. Tatsumaki noted that there were no people walking the streets near the apartment building. Damaged buildings were never repaired and the roads remained impassable.

Half of the city was pretty much like a ghost town. The high rate of crime and the abnormal monsters were the city's main tourist attractions.

No wonder she was lured here.

While browsing, she then sensed some movement like someone was approaching the building.

 _It's him. There's no one living here except us._

She quickly turned off the laptop and waited outside the door, planning to meet him before he got in to his apartment refuge.

Sure enough, a man with an eyesore yellow costume finally appeared. Tatsumaki assumed that he was again doing some heroic deeds if he's in his ridiculous get-up, but she noticed that something's off. The caped baldy has his head low and his shoulders sagging. He walked like he's dragging his feet.

 _He looks depressed. Well, not that I really care._

As he passed by, Tatsumaki asked, "May I talk with you for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Saitama replied lamely and went inside his apartment.

Normally, Tatsumaki would have acted in a very tsun-tsun like behavior if she was dismissed without a passing glance, but the melancholic man nonetheless agreed so she resisted the impulse.

She followed him inside without much fuss. Saitama sat beside the coffee table, leaned his left elbow on it, and rested his face on his knuckles. He didn't speak nor acknowledged that he has a guest but simply sat in that depressed manner.

Tatsumaki was beyond insulted now. He didn't greet her nor serve her tea or something. She remembered that she was not here to have idle chat and it was the only thing preventing her from doing something chaotic.

She sat across him and then cleared her throat. "I'll go straight to the point; I want to fight you."

"…"

"…"

"…Absolutely not." Saitama replied flatly.

"What?! Why not?"

"I already have a self-imposed rival and I don't fight women if it can be avoided." Saitama looked at his right hand. He remembered Quick Silver Tonic's... manhood on his knuckles and he shuddered. The fact that the strange assassin looked rather feminine made it the more disturbing.

"What about that mosquito monster?"

"She's a monster, you're a girl and I don't want to hurt you in anyway."

"You underestimate me, is that it?" retorted Tatsumaki leaning towards him, her palms flat on the table.

The bald man sighed heavily. "Just go home. I'm now aware of a serious problem and am reeling from the shock. So I beg you, go home. It's not that far."

 _A serious problem? How could he have any problems with how strong he is?_ Tatsumaki leaned back. _"_ Oh? What is it? Maybe I can help you. I still owe you."

Saitama thought deeply for several seconds. Tatsumaki felt he had news that would rock the very foundations of the world. If he's so strong and yet carried a heavy problem, doesn't that pertain that he couldn't solve it with his strength? What kind of a problem that makes this ridiculously strong man to be so moody? The monsters he defeated before didn't give him this feeling at all so what kind of an abomination caused this?

She waited in anticipation and bated breath.

"…"

"…No one knows who I am."

Tatsumaki's jaw almost dropped.

"It's been three years since I first became a hero. I've defeated many monsters and evil organizations during that time. I've never heard of any other heroes doing as much as me. Everyone in the world should know me by now!" Saitama was now injecting raw emotions in his words.

"Isn't it weird that I don't have any fans or anything?! You know what someone said to me today? 'Never knew you.' Plus, everyone in town took me for a terrorist. They've all forgotten how I beat those monsters for them! And this morning I beat that bald terrorist leader!"

Tatsumaki again summoned all her patience to weather the brewing storm and to keep it at bay. A fight was all she wanted and she can just burst out in blazing rage right here and now to commence it, but she knew at the end of it she could get in trouble with the authorities. If this man beat her, as galling as it is possible, she will be apprehended and locked up again like an animal. She can always escape but she can't bear the stigma of having the authorities always right at her tail, much like those of her previous captors.

No. She needed to request a legitimate fight much like a spar to measure how strong he is without any collateral damage or casualties around them. The bald man needed to agree to some terms to make this work without any hassles or complications.

Tatsumaki calmed herself for the umpteenth time this day and began to think rationally. No doubt, all those frustrations she felt earlier were nothing but to prepare her for exactly this darned moment.

 _He isn't recognized yet? He is bald so people might have mistaken him as a terrorist reported in the news. Although, earlier reports didn't mention him but credited the deed of defeating the terrorists to a hero named Mumen Rider. Isn't he a hero like him? Maybe it's because…_

Tatsumaki stood up. "Can I use your laptop? I'll show you something that might help."

"Yeah, sure."

"I'll show you something so get your ass here." Tatsumaki angrily demanded.

x-x-x

"Take a test at any local branch of the Hero Association. If you score better than the cut-off, you will be registered in the Hero Registry and will be allowed to officially call yourself a 'hero.'" Saitama read flatly.

"Once you are recognized by the Association, you are deemed a pro and will get paid from donations collected by the Association.

"All heroes in the public eye are registered, professional heroes. You may be doing plenty of hero work, but self-proclaimed heroes are just weirdoes spouting nonsense viewed with suspicion."

Saitama finished reading the whole article and sank from deep regret. "I had no idea."

 _He's a self-proclaimed hero for three years and he hasn't heard about it?_ The esper incredulously thought while floating beside him. "Heroes that aren't registered are not credited nor taken notice so whenever something bad happens, the closest or immediate hero who responded will take it if no one took responsibility." She explained further.

"Is that how it works?" asked the sulking "hero".

"I think so."

"Are you registered too?"

This took Tatsumaki by surprise. "N-no, I'm not."

Saitama's head perked up. "Let's register! Register with me and I'll accept your fight and we're quits."

"Really?! Okay then!" Tatsumaki then hugged him from behind.

Few seconds ticked by.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Tatsumaki quickly released her grip and backed away. "Uhh, the registration is tomorrow morning so… I'll see you 7:30 outside the apartment building tomorrow. Bye." She then floated straight towards the exit lest she lose her sanity.

"Oh, yeah. See you tomorrow then, and thanks." Saitama replied.

Tatsumaki finally went inside her apartment and slammed the door behind her closed. Her heart was beating so fast that it might break out from its confines. It wasn't nervousness of death or anxiety but rather an exhilarated feeling. And to her it was an incredibly foreign emotion. She hasn't felt like this before since - ever.

 _Why did I do that? It's not like he asked me in a date or something._

 _No no no no no! I asked him to a fight and he agreed if I joined him register tomorrow! End of discussion!_

Later that night, Tatsumaki plopped on her bed wearing her beloved pajamas and for hours on end the feeling of exhilaration still stayed and she couldn't fall asleep.

 _Dammit._

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **Some readers have been very gracious to impart some advice and I really appreciate those kinds of feedback. I have an... enlightening chat with God of LoL regarding some things. It really is good to hear from others in a rather honest way. Props to him.**

 **Well, reviews are appreciated and see you in the next chapter!**


	6. The Hero Association

**Chapter 6: The Hero Association**

* * *

Tatsumaki was waiting not-so-patiently outside the apartment building. She didn't sleep much but there was something fueling her to remain awake. The feeling from last night was still there and it damned her to survive the whole night with it.

At least, her eyes weren't stricken with lack of sleep.

The esper was wearing a thin low collared white shirt and underneath was a green polo shirt that pops out the collar and sleeves nicely. Blue jeans and green laced sandals completed the ensemble. She didn't want to carry a purse since her pockets was all she needed. It's not like she's going to a…

Waiving her head quickly, she focused once more on the task.

That bald man was late for whatever reason. He was proving to her that indeed he wasn't always on time like he had once said to her. It's been more like an hour or so (but in reality, it's only been 5 minutes). Being early might be the best course of action to avoid long lines and she read from an article that the Hero Association has many applicants but few actually pass. Whatever the result, he needed to stay true to his word even if one or both of them failed.

Failed.

Tatsumaki thought about purposely failing this registration but her pride and ego won't let her do it. She would pass with flying colors or she would just fly out of there to leave the embarrassment that is failing. Her younger sister passed before so why not…

She waived her head again.

 _No. No. Not now._

"Oi! I'm sorry if I kept you waiting." Saitama arrived with a casual wave. Tatsumaki looked at him, and swore she wished that she should have gone alone. The bald man was wearing a hoodie with a word "OPPAI" at the front and two curves that accentuate what it means.

 _For crying out loud, is he aware I'm a girl and he dressed like this?!_

"Don't you have anything to wear other than _that_?" Tatsumaki complained bitterly.

"Hmm? Yeah. I don't."

 _What the hell?!_

"And what took you so long?" she asked again, her patience already thinning.

"I forgot to water my plant cactus so I went back up."

"AREN'T cactuses supposed to be watered occasionally, like, once in every freaking blue moon?"

"Oh, I just remembered it now after all this time."

Tatsumaki turned around. She was clenching her fist and gritting her teeth so hard that she might pop multiple veins in her body.

"Something's wrong?"

"No. Ev-everything's fine. Let's just go." The esper answered feigning calmness and failing at it. She then started walking and with her every step the ground cracked and shook.

"Okay then."

x-x-x

The two went out of the desolate residential area and were now in the main city streets. Tatsumaki could spot some people she was sure that will also register. They were already in their costumes, turning the streets like an anime or comic convention. She thought that she had seen the most comical costume in Saitama but it seemed that there were also more weirdoes in the world that could match him in that category.

 _It's not like your costume will help you become strong._ Tatsumaki thought with a grimace.

"You know…, ugh, Ta… Ta… Tama-"

"It's TATSUMAKI!" The green haired girl loudly cut in. "Tat! Su! Ma! Ki! Not Tamasuki or Tamagotchi. It's Tatsumaki."

"You don't have to –"

"Say it!"

"Tatsumaki."

"Again."

"Tatsumaki."

Saitama noticed some stares from other people. The disparity of their own appearances to the public were incongruous; one was a "former terrorist" while the other was an insolent little midget demanding her name to be said out loud. It was tempting to answer back but he knew it would only make matters worse.

He was now considering if he made a mistake about this.

Tatsumaki faced the road again. "Good. Now, what do you want to talk about," she said with all the enthusiasm if she had any at all.

"Well, Tatsumaki, what happened to that previous tenant? You didn't –"

"No. He got sick of the monster's attacks and left." The esper answered briefly. She had been thinking of a better retort as payback from earlier but decided he wasn't worth a damn.

"That's good."

Moments later, they arrived at the hero registration that was held at the public city shelter. It was a giant dome structure with multiple entrances. It looked more like a stadium than a safe house. Tatsumaki wondered that safe houses or shelters should be like an underground bunker to be more secure or secluded like the House of Evolution's base. With the huge structure looming over the horizon and people from all over the city coming in while dressed in colorful clothes, it looked like they came to a concert or something.

Or some weirdo conference.

"Male and female applicants have different registration areas so we'll split for now. Don't forget about our deal." Tatsumaki reminded Saitama while inside the premises.

"Yeah, don't worry. Well, see you later then." Saitama headed straight towards the men's registration without delay.

The esper stared at the man's back and pouted.

 _He didn't even wish me luck._

"Hmph!"

x-x-x

Waiting for her number to be called wasn't one of the most pleasant experiences ever in Tatsumaki's life. In the midst of crazy costumed peacocks, barbarians and caped lunatics, she alone stood as a sore thumb in reverse. Her childish looks and casual clothes were a blaring contrast. Of course some applicants have made their own assumptions. It would be in the lines of a "lost child" or "dreaming little kid."

For the most part of waiting, Tatsumaki had been controlling herself from blowing up the whole complex for their sheer impertinence. Despite being a psychic, she was not a mind reader but it doesn't take a mind reader to know their thoughts. In the not so distant past, a snicker or a grin was more than she could handle but the recent few days of frustration have honed her patience to record breaking time. Tolerance was now in her vocabulary and she accepted it grudgingly. It was more for their benefit and well-being if seen in a different perspective.

The venue has a rule of no fighting between applicants lest they be disqualified or blacklisted by the Hero Association. They must act according to their application even if they're not heroes yet. But that doesn't mean that it's mandatory that they should go all the way.

Costumes of different kinds of fashion, quirks or whatever the strange human imagination have come up with were displayed in full galore. There were those who were half dressed, ready to be gawk at by fellow applicants or watching perverts. Then there were some very impractical dress codes or hairstyles whose significance was lost to Tatsumaki. Whatever functions they have while fighting, at least they'll die in style.

Tatsumaki heard her number being called for a quick screening. The walk from her seat to her destination wasn't very welcoming. Eyes of suspicion, amusement or blatant disgust were all around. In the back of her head, she thought that that bald guy must be enduring the same thing – if not more humiliating.

Upon her arrival and handing her application form, she was greeted by a woman with short raven hair that ends on the neck and bangs up to her eyes while wearing a hairband.

"Hello, Miss Tatsumaki," the interviewer greeted reading from the paper. "Before the physical examination, I'll ask some questions. May you please describe a little of yourself?"

Tatsumaki raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? Well, I can do this." She glowed green and everything around their vicinity floated. There were gasps of surprise coming from the applicants at the back.

"You're an esper I see." The interviewer calmly noted without even flinching from the strangeness. "The Hero Association has a special examination for people who are gifted with such powers."

"You're not gonna stick some wires on me or put something on my head, do you?" Tatsumaki asked head tilted to one side.

"Of course not, Miss Tatsumaki. The test, according to what power you have, will only measure its extent and if it's in your complete control. We had some applicants in the past that are like you."

 _I know._

"The normal physical examination's result won't be able to determine exactly your capabilities and will be irrelevant." The interviewer stood up. "If you please follow me."

Tatsumaki put down the things gently. She gave a smirk at the awestruck crowd and then followed.

x-x-x

Tatsumaki was led inside an empty room much the same with the House of Evolution's combat grounds but not as massive. Cameras and one-way observatories can be seen from any corner. Tatsumaki could feel familiarity in this place in the most negative of recollections.

"This exercise will determine how much force you can exert in your grip using your powers." A computer voice said from a wall speaker. A ball a meter in diameter appeared and hovered in the air.

 _Hmm? Is that all?_ Tatsumaki raised a hand and clenched her hand to a fist. The ball quickly shrunk and sparks of electricity came out. A red LED chart read '9999'. There are no other spaces for another digit following the score.

"This exercise will determine how far and accurate you can throw an object. There are balls with different weights and composition placed for each target. Proceed one after another while standing beside the red line."

Tatsumaki took all the balls without even moving from her position. She was meters away from the line and the heaviest ball was made of pure metal and much taller than she was and much wider than the average human's arm span but she lifted it effortlessly along with the other balls. She threw a glance at the targets and the balls shoot forward simultaneously to their respective target's dead center and crashed right through it. The balls went back and returned to their previous position. She wouldn't want someone getting hit if it managed to pass through a wall.

"This exercise will determine how much you can traverse in an obstacle while only using your powers. Please stand beside the red line. "

A timer counted to zero and Tatsumaki blitzed through the course, leaving a green trail of light. Walls suddenly appeared to redirect her. The obstacle turned into a maze but Tatsumaki's maneuvered with ease without any compromise in speed. She zigzagged through the obstacle course and arrived at the finish line.

The margin between her record and the time limit was huge. It occurred to her that there was a time limit in the first place.

Tatsumaki sighed.

 _This is getting all too boring._

"This exercise will determine your combat capabilities against multiple enemies. You can use everything in your power to remove the threat. The enemies will only try to incapacitate. The exercise will end if all targets are eliminated or you are no longer able to fight. Giving up is also an option and all activities will cease once requested. Please stand at the center."

 _Give up? Pfft. Yeah, right._

The surroundings went dark and a countdown was initiated. At zero, the light turned back on, revealing many humanoid robots around her. They sprung to life and started lunging at her.

 _I'm bored so…_

Three robots were sliced at the waist in one slash by her glowing green hand. The other robots continued in their pursuit despite their mangled allies.

Tatsumaki dodged, turned, jumped, sidestepped and all the while slashed with efficiency in a dance macabre. Mechanical parts littered all around and still the enemies kept coming. She simply could end this with one fell swoop but as was stated, she was getting really bored.

Placement turrets from the walls and floor suddenly appeared and began shooting rubber projectiles at her.

 _Not fair._

Before the projectiles hit her, they completely stopped still around her and, after a split second, they returned from where they came from, destroying the turrets.

Mechanical robots in different forms and sizes appeared from the ground. Some were as huge as Armored Gorilla while others attack in groups and has coordinated actions. Still, Tatsumaki didn't relent. She immobilized the large enemies by cutting their limbs and then stabbing their center mass or cutting anything resembled their head. As for grouped targets, she'll clump them to a ball and throw them towards a wall or any incoming enemies.

Finally, Tatsumaki stood still in the center of a scrap graveyard. There were some robots twitching helplessly in random places. Releasing a sigh, Tatsumaki crushed the remaining survivors with telekinesis to put them out of their misery, if they had any.

"Exercise finished."

Tatsumaki looked up to a LED display.

 _100/100? They're way too few._

"Miss Tatsumaki, please proceed to the next room and wait for the written part of the exams."

 _There's still more? Not that I can't handle._

She floated towards an opened doorway.

 _I wonder how that bald man fares._

x-x-x

"She completed everything," said a man with circular glasses and hazel colored hair that was parted in the middle. He was joined by his two colleagues in a room, reviewing the top applicants. Eyeing the esper's results from a screen he continued, "That's the highest difficulty we have and yet she seems she's having an easy time. The previous applicant that took this didn't even finish it, and that was only average level. She also scored perfect in the written exams."

"According to our records, she's her older sister." A rugged looking man with black hair said. "I suspect nothing less. However, I wonder why she took the exam now and not before."

"It's not in our line to ask her about it," answered a mustached man in his late 50's. "But as I can see here, she's definitely has great potential. She's a strong candidate for a higher rank right from the start. I know this is very rare but we will make an exception this time."

"The latter exercises weren't meant for her but for S class training," noted the rugged man. "I hope Metal Knight doesn't have any use for those robots."

The bespectacled man took out his cellphone. "I'll notify Sweet Mask. We haven't had an applicant like this for quite some time now."

"As for the other one, he broke every existing record in the physical exams by an absurd margin, but…"

"But?"

"I can say that his intelligence and judgment may seem lacking for our standards. He got few questions correct because he exclusively chose one side of every multiple choices. That barely got him through despite having a perfect physical exam. We can't grant him the same rank as hers."

"So much power, so little brain," muttered the mustached man. "At least we have someone here that equaled both sides."

"True. Call Snek for the orientation. This examination isn't a total failure after all."

The two went out of the room for their respective duties, leaving the rugged man alone.

 _The older sister, huh?_

The man sat down again and searched the computer for a specific file. A picture of a beautiful young woman with black raven hair and green eyes flashed across the screen.

 _ **Name:**_ _FUBUKI_

 _ **Gender:**_ _Female_

 _ **Age:**_ _20_

 _ **Class:**_ _B_

 _ **Rank:**_ _1_

 _ **Affiliation:**_ _The Blizzard Group (Leader)_

 _ **Status:**_ _INACTIVE / MISSING_

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **Yeah, I changed the physical exams for powered up beings. It's quite unfair if they'll have the normal exams given their powers. Saitama is sure an OP being but it's not very apparent like Tatsumaki or Genos. In the anime, he noted that Genos should have just given them his specs because he's a cyborg. If it is for an excuse slip to skip the exams or not, I find it quite sensible.**

 **Pardon to any glaring changes, OOC moments, grammatical errors or typos. They'll basically never leave me for the rest of my life. Well, reviews are appreciated and see you in the next chapter!**


	7. Are We Heroes Yet?

**Chapter 7: Are We Heroes Yet?**

* * *

Tatsumaki was sitting in the corner of the women's locker room. There were other applicants who were putting back their costumes or simply conversed with others. She, on the other hand, decided to stay quiet and far away from them as possible.

The stunt she pulled earlier about showing off and the fact that she took a different test than the majority wasn't taken well. Clearly being different than everyone else, she was eyed like some sort of a freak show, but to her it wasn't strange anymore. She had endured far more criticizing glares than that they could possibly imagine.

It was like all over again: if she showed she's different some would take notice and then start making assumptions. In the past, Tatsumaki had to repeatedly lecture her sister Fubuki to not be affected by any person's thoughts about the both of them, be it negatively or out of pity. And yet, all it did was steer her sister more to it and she became more self-conscious through the years. Fubuki started to insulate herself from those thoughts through outward appearance and acting in a belief of safety-in-numbers. That way, she was misguided by flattery around her and had missed the crucial setbacks that strengthened a person through one's effort only. There's so much potential in her but instead she wasted it with weaklings and losers, deluding herself that she's on the top.

A fish will always be in its same size no matter what pond it thrives.

Tatsumaki slightly closed her eyes in contemplation.

Had she failed as an older sister? Or did she go too far from her attempts that it backfired and instead managed Fubuki to take a path differently from hers? With their parents gone at an early age, who could she count on for help other than herself? She followed her own words based on those rough experiences and it got her where she was now.

And still, things had happened that she would never expect.

In her mind, she can't rid that she was somehow responsible. She might have done something, anything, but in the end, it was pointless.

Yes. There was no one to blame. Now that her sister was nowhere to be found or might be dead already –

 _This is not the time for this,_ she thought resolutely. _Things are different now._

Thinking of outward appearances and the road to being strong, there's this particular bald person kept popping out from her mind. It was only a few days but she had never been this bothered by a person other than her sister's welfare.

 _I wonder how he's doing now…_

She shook her head forcibly.

 _Why am I so worried about that baldy? Of course he'll pass. With his strength I doubt he'll have trouble passing._

After an hour of waiting (which to Tatsumaki seemed like an eternity), the results came in. Tatsumaki was handed a manila envelope containing her performance. She opened it and read the paper.

A smile blossomed on her face without her noticing. _Just what I suspected._

She didn't know if she should be proud of it or dismiss it altogether since the test to her was very easy. Still, there's no helping being proud of one's work despite she barely put effort into it. And to think about it, she definitely thought she deserved more than this.

What would she get if she went all out and blows up the entire area, heck, the whole city?

A Dragon level threat, of course.

Heh. Amazing what ego can do to one's mind.

Upon reading the results, the annoying thought that she kept pushing out from her mind went back again.

 _If I got this rank, what did he have_?

The thought of him surpassing her was very irritating but that baldy was really strong. The fact that he treated those monsters like the bugs they were and didn't even look he put ANY effort disposing them in every sense of the word. He literally needed one strike each to finish them off, and he did it in the most comical and anticlimactic fight sequences ever. He was keener on making the lamest jokes and catching a bargain sale than what his victory meant.

If she put two and two together, she could surmise that those fights, if it can be called that, only showed a glimpse of his power. What if he gave it the slightest of attention? And what more if he went serious as if his life depended on it?

For the first time since meeting this strange freak baldy, Tatsumaki felt dread about him. If he took out those monsters, which she had so much trouble with, without breaking a sweat, how could she even fare against him?

Was asking him to a fight such a good idea?

The inner Tatsumaki in her mind quickly stomped her doubts. Ego or pride, she wouldn't let anything make her waver in her decision. Besides, she will only try and measure his power to a certain degree. It's not like they're going to kill each other in cold blood, though trying not to kill him would impede somehow her abilities.

She just wanted to silence that little voice in her ear that made her curious about him. After that, she could get on with her life as if nothing happened.

Except that something happened and she became involved in this hero registration in her attempt to find out an irritating secret.

"Ms. Tatsumaki," a voice called her from a PA speaker. "There will be a seminar for successful candidates at 4:00pm. Please come to Lecture Hall #3."

The esper put back the result in its envelope and went out of the room.

 _Time to meet that egghead._

x-x-x

As Tatsumaki walked towards the lecture hall she noticed that no one was also going in her direction. Some people she passed by had sad expressions. Of course, it instantly told her that they failed and were grieving. The corridors looked like a hospital with all the grieving and mourning happening.

Along the way, she heard many voices of frustration, curses of trying multiple times and yet failing each time or simply blaming something to cover up for their ineptitude. Some who saw her earlier had eyed her with envy and disdain. Of all the people in the world, they were bested by who they deemed the least likely to pass.

Tatsumaki had put those thoughts behind her. She knew better than be influenced by someone so beneath her contemplation and level. It may sound harsh but that's just how things go in her life.

There was also a rumor circulating about an applicant who destroyed some of the equipment thus many were not able to finish their registrations and were rescheduled for a later date. Tatsumaki was in a special examination room and so she wasn't aware of what ha happened in the physical exams. Some say he was a cheat if he's able to pass easily. Others speculated he's a mole inserted by the Hero Association to intimidate new comers and make them give up through shock-and-awe. It worked to scare some applicants whether if it's true or not but it'll only put coal to the bonfire of issues regarding this man.

Tatsumaki had an idea who this "cheat" was, and she knew damn well those rumors weren't true. They simply couldn't accept someone was better than them because it trumps their first impressions to ridiculous proportions. To justify their initial thoughts, they made false accusations and bitter complaints about life and whatnot.

Funny. It seemed he was like her regarding their experiences with other people.

Even funnier was she was now comparing herself to that egghead. It only made her more determined to silence that galling voice once and for all

Tatsumaki arrived at the Lecture Hall #3 with no one else tagging along with her. Can't complain since she doesn't want any company in the first place.

The lecture hall looked like an ordinary classroom in most schools. It was mostly empty if it not for a bald person sitting in the front row, his arms sprawled on the desk and his shiny head resting on it.

Upon looking at him, Tatsumaki got the strangest of feeling. Should she be happy about it or just shrug it off? Since it's obvious they passed the exams, should she congratulate him or vice versa? Flattery would go nowhere with her and she was sure he was also like that.

 _Hmm, enough of the comparisons._

She walked towards him and greeted with a simple "Hey."

The bald man raised his head and looked at her in his ever blasé expression.

 _He may be terribly bored like I am._

 _Dammit! Enough of the comparisons!_

"Oi! You passed too!" Saitama greeted back quite exuberantly.

This took Tatsumaki by surprise. She glanced away from him and replied, "What did you expect?" She sat beside him while not making eye contact. She was embarrassed but could not figure out why.

"Well, at least we both passed."

"It's not even a test to begin with." Tatsumaki said crossing her arms.

"Yeah, I thought they're quite easy at first."

"So what did you get?"

"What?"

"The results. I got mine right here." An envelope landed in front of Saitama.

"Oh, right." He opened it and pulled the paper up while Tatsumaki was staring at him at the corner of her eyes.

 _Dammit! Why do I feel so anxious?_

"Woah. You got a perfect score!" Saitama said. "That's amazing!"

Tatsumaki quickly looked away, a slight tint of red in her cheeks. "Hmph! The exam's very easy that a little kid could do it."

Saitama eyed her with the expression he's now very familiar doing. _Just like you._

"You're an S class, huh? That's pretty something." Saitama said, impressed.

"So what about you?"

"About me?"

"I guess you got the same rank too."

"Oh, yeah. That…" Saitama's voice trailed off. He put the paper back in its envelope and discreetly handed it back to her.

"So?"

"So?"

"Don't screw with me and tell me!" Tatsumaki raged.

"It's… average. Nothing special." Saitama turned away from her.

Tatsumaki floated overhead. "You're hiding something!"

"I already told you, it's nothing."

"Then what are you clutching in your chest?" The esper started looking over his shoulder left and right but Saitama countered it by moving in the same direction.

"Oi! I already told you!"

Tatsumaki sat back in her seat, incensed.

 _That's how you want it, huh?_

The esper pointed an index finger towards Saitama palm up and flicked it back. An envelope suddenly popped out from Saitama and began floating towards her.

"Hey! That's not fair!" protested the bald man.

"Not fair? I just showed you mine so you should show yours!" Tatsumaki retorted as she grabbed the cursed envelope.

Saitama put his hands inside the front pocket of his offending hoodie. "Fine. You'll know it sooner or later."

Tatsumaki slowly lifted the paper inside. Halfway, the top half letter of a rank appeared. It was curved like the letter 'S' and Tatsumaki quickly wondered why he was ashamed of the result.

Until she fully lifted it up and she understood why.

 _What?! A 'C'?!_ Tatsumaki exclaimed in the confines of her mind. _How – what – why?_

She looked at Saitama and the man gave her a blank look.

She looked back at the paper and looked at him again. This time, he was now scowling.

She returned her gaze to the paper for the third time but when she returned her gaze at him, his back was facing her.

Tatsumaki had been dumbfounded by this man before but not like this. Something was definitely wrong here.

Looking at the cause of such anomaly, she read further.

The physical exams were flat perfect. There is no surprise there.

But the written exams. He almost failed if not for 2 measly points, and that's not even the harder of the two. Most applicants catch up in the written exams if their physical exams were low. Many were not gifted in the physical department and so this was taken as an equalizer of sorts. They may train their bodies after they passed.

But this. He passed the other way around and it was unheard of. It was already hard enough to pass if the other half failed miserably.

Forget how he passed. How did this happen?

 _He always has trouble remembering things. Maybe that's why._ Tatsumaki concluded.

Now about her reaction, Tatsumaki was in a loss of words. In a way, she could laugh her ass off because of this poor excuse of a result. Frankly speaking, that would be a "normal reaction" out of anybody. The fact that she got an 'S' rank while he got a 'C' was a cruel, comedic twist of fate.

But she knew what he's really capable off. His rank doesn't reflect correctly what he can do. Also, the fact he passed at all sorely because of the physical exams was still a feat on its own. No one would even believe this unless he cheated, which, by the way, rumors about it started to circulate.

"Oh" was the only word that escaped her lips.

Saitama held both his hands inside the pocket of his hoodie. "You got the highest rank while I got the lowest. Laugh if you want to."

"…At least you passed."

Saitama slowly turned to face the esper, his eyebrows knotting. "What?"

"Well, your written exam may be low but you got a perfect score in the physical exams. And considering we're the only ones here, meaning we're the only ones who passed then you're the top 2."

Saitama blinked. "Oh, I… I never thought it like that."

"All that really matters is that you passed. Isn't that why you came here for?" Tatsumaki put back his result on the desk and gazed at the whiteboard in front.

Saitama eyed his dismal results. _Hmm, maybe I was wrong about this little midget._

x-x-x

Few minutes passed and a man wearing a brown snake skin suit over a dark red polo and black tie entered the room. He has black hair and sunken cheeks that showed his cheekbones in a rather grim manner. His mannerisms and expressions seemed like he's a type of man who wasn't pleased about many things.

Tatsumaki quickly concluded this man will handle the orientation. With his uptight looks and with only the three of them here, she got the feeling this was a high school detention lecture.

"First, congratulations on passing." The man who was known as 'Snek' based on what he wrote on the whiteboard greeted threateningly. His menacing tone was absurd about what he's trying to convey.

"Now, one of you only made it on a fluke."

 _Yeah. Fluke._

"So unless you want your luck to go to waste, I better see you giving it your all." Snek pointed a finger and looked at them fiercely. "And don't get all puffed up! From here on, keep your hero status in mind and act modestly! After all, your faces will be placed on the Hero Association website."

Tatsumaki was barely giving him attention as she just flicked her eyes here and there, waiting when this would end. The one beside her was chewing gum very audibly in protest of all that was proper in this world.

This blatant act of disrespect from this egghead seemed to displease the lecturer.

"Did you hear me? That goofball head of yours is gonna be shown to the whole world. If you don't want to humiliate yourselves…" Snek jumped on the wooden desk and then performed a series of striking attacks that looked ridiculous in Tatsumaki's eyes. "Aspire to be a fine hero like me!" he said kneeling in his strange stance.

Tatsumaki stared blandly at such a gross display of skill while Saitama blew a bubble using his gum. Saitama's gum grew to critical levels and it finally popped. Instead of the gum plastering over his face, a green outline materialized between him and the gum, acting as a shield.

"Oh, thanks for that." Saitama said to the esper as he peeled back the gum.

Tatsumaki didn't answer back nor know why she did that. Maybe it's because she doesn't like someone smack talking him. She knew full well how that feels.

 _Dammit. This comparison again._

"As a Class A hero, I have some influence over the Association," continued Snek who looked mightily pissed now. "I'll make sure those who behave irresponsibly lose points and get demoted! Don't you forget it!"

"Yeah, yeah." Saitama replied. "Are we done?"

"Not yet!" Snek answered and went down from the desk much to the chagrin of the two new heroes. He took two books from a drawer and dropped it heavily on the desk.

"This is the Hero Association handbook. Study this well as it contains all the rules and regulations to be a hero. If you break any of them, I'll make sure it'll get to the Association and you'll get fired!"

"Yeah, okay. Can we just take it and leave now?" Saitama asked. Snek grabbed the books and placed one in front of Tatsumaki and the other he tossed casually in front of Saitama.

"Yes, you can." Snek said specifically to Saitama. "But I'll be seeing you shortly." He walked away from the room, marking the lecture to be over.

 _So the practice is still around,_ Tatsumaki thought.

x-x-x

That late afternoon, the two new appointed heroes, Tatsumaki and Saitama, went back towards their apartment.

"Wow, that was a boring seminar." Saitama started talking.

"Yeah, go figure, captain obvious." Tatsumaki deadpanned

"We're real heroes now despite how boring to become one. And thanks for informing me about this hero stuff and tagging along."

"Hey! I didn't do it out of charity, you know!" The green haired girl retorted. "We still have a deal."

"I have to fix my ceiling so tomorrow afternoon? How about 3 pm at the Barren Canyon? That's fine for you?"

"Just don't be late and we won't have any problems, got it!"

"Okay then. Oh, I almost forgot. Thanks for cheering me up back there."

"W-what are you talking about?" Tatsumaki stuttered.

"There, about my rank. You said it's not that important."

"I only said the truth! I'm not trying to be good to you or anything!"

"But you shielded me from my gum. I actually thought you're not so bad after all. You will be a great hero someday I'm sure."

Tatsumaki felt her face get hot. She hasn't heard someone say something nice to her. "W-what are you trying to say?" she asked as she started floating. "I asked you to a fight not a da – I mean... 3 PM at the Barren Canyon! Don't be late!"

The esper quickly flew towards the apartment without looking back, leaving the bald man alone.

Saitama just scratched his bald head in confusion. _Did I do something wrong?_ He would then proceed to meet someone he would not recognize and beat that person with a nonchalant punch.

And for the second straight night, Tatsumaki got trouble sleeping again.

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **Yeah! An update! Got something on so I left this hanging for quite some time. Don't know when the next update is since I don't have much free time nowadays. I've been reading the manga lately so blame that. But still, I'll try not to prolong it. Sorry if this chapter seemed long. I might have been in those moods where I write indiscriminately like Genos.**

 **Well, reviews are appreciated and see you in the next chapter!**


	8. Hero vs Hero

**Chapter 8: Hero vs Hero: Tatsumaki vs Saitama**

* * *

" _Hey, sis! I got in!"_

"…"

" _I became a B class hero right from the start! There were some other heroes I met and we're planning to form a group. They have some weird hero names but I'm sure –"_

 _A cup suddenly crashed towards a wall and broke into a million pieces, staining the floor with tea._

" _A hero, you say?" a girl said, slowly turning around._

"…"

" _Where were they when we were forcibly taken from our parents? Where were they when we were treated, tortured and experimented like animals? Where were they when we managed to escape that goddamned facility? Where were they and what were they doing?"_

" _The Hero Association just started a year –"_

" _That's the problem. They are waiting for a glorified fan club to join and take action. Is it really that important for something like that to happen first before someone becomes a hero?"_

 _The girl stood up. "It's fortunate we still inherited our parents' wealth after all this and yet you take this foolish decision after you just finished high school. You're old already. Do what you want with your life but don't speak to me about this ever again."_

 _The girl went out of the room and slammed the door behind her._

x-x-x

Tatsumaki woke up with gasp, eyes fluttering wide open.

This has been occurring frequently now. Night terrors or nightmares or whatever they're called was not a thing she can get accustomed to. Sleep was supposed to be mankind's blissful place of nonexistence, but even in this realm she was being haunted by things she thought were long gone.

She sat up and clutched her forehead riddled with drops of sweat. It was still night and the moonlight beamed through the window, lighting her apartment in a gentle dreamlike luminescence.

Glancing to her side, she saw the envelope containing her registration resting on the small coffee table, the Hero Association logo proudly emblazoned on its front. The guidebook that she read out of sheer boredom to get herself to sleep was opened in a random page.

She could remember bits and pieces of her dream. It was strange, though. The more she tried to remember, the more disjointed and crazy it sounded.

 _Why? What am I doing? Am I serious about this? All for the sake of that stupid baldy's secret?_

And just like that, reality took control and dispelled all notion of nonsense in her mind.

She should have definitely moved on by now. It was all in the past and it never hindered her in any way. What's wrong if she acted differently from all those years ago? Change was inevitable with all those things happened in her life.

First it was to her parents and then to her sister. Why would she knock herself silly if she joined the Hero Association, an organization that she had so much contempt in the past?

She had only said that because Fubuki was thinking of disproving her belief of lone wolf by garnering like-minded individuals to be strong. Heroes were an idealistic bunch in nature so she should have expected her sister to do such a thing. Wasn't that her only reason why she joined this pathetic band of caped weirdoes? To look strong and feel empowered every time?

Now that Tatsumaki knew how the Hero Association really works, she might be mistaken about her initial thoughts.

She once thought that the Hero Association was like a big ridiculous tightknit family of well-meaning righteous heroes, encouraging and helping one another out of the goodness of their hearts. It was a utopia of good people willing to lay their lives for the sake and protection of humanity. Wasn't it their purpose why it was established in the first place?

In reality, it was not like that at all.

All were biting and stabbing one another on their backs because of its ranking system. No one was really doing anything to help a fellow hero out of fear of surpassing their own rank. One could be a lone hero or join a group to better their odds, but it was a dog-eat-dog business at its core. There was even a practice of rookie crushing and rank hoarding which was strangely allowed by the Association. This resulted to a caste of people depending on their abilities, their merits and, most importantly, the public perception. The system itself was flawed if the public perception and one's popularity was rated higher than their own accomplishments, abilities or even their virtues.

You don't count if you're not ahead of the rat race.

No wonder Fubuki got so disillusioned rather quickly and got her self-esteem plummeted to record level lows. Her rank wasn't one of her goals anymore and instead she tried to keep and protect it from others. Her group became something out of a gang or syndicate that only grows in number through intimidation. The most ironic thing was that they remained stuck to where they are because of that same leader that they looked up to and believed in. Every single one of them was limited by their own scheme.

It almost looked pitiful, really, with how blind and gullible they are.

But oh, a new challenger had just entered the playing field. She would be different. She would overcome this savage industry using her unwavering philosophy.

And it would start after fighting that bald man.

Tatsumaki took solace on that thought and went back to sleep, burying the unwanted thoughts deep, like she had done to so many others.

x-x-x

The sky was in its perfect blue hue and the clouds were sparse. The gentle breeze blew through the craggy cliff face, whistling in a haunting tune.

The Barren Canyon was situated at the farthest reaches of any city. It was a former massive reservoir of a river that was dried out years ago. With steep cliffs and plateaus from all sides and a flat center landscape, it now served as a nature-made arena.

Two heroes were standing at center. One was in a tight fitting black dress while the other was in a yellow jumpsuit and white cape.

Tatsumaki had long waited for this. She could not imagine how absurd she needed to go all through this crap just to fight him. It doesn't matter anyway since the time had finally come.

"You know, I actually half expected you to be late." Tatsumaki said, crossing her arms.

The bald hero turned to her after looking at some cliff. "How could I be late when a girl asked me not to?"

Tatsumaki reeled in such an unexpected answer. "W-what are talking about?! I didn't ask you out – I mean… y-you were late when we registered yesterday!" she exclaimed, pointing an index finger at him.

"Yeah, about 5 minutes. We didn't get late or anything so I don't see what the fuss is all about."

 _The nerve of this guy. He's distracting me._

"I have to explain something first before we proceed." As much as Tatsumaki hated lecturing, she needed to lay some terms first. No doubt, he doesn't know anything about it so she needed to inform him.

"We are heroes now and as heroes we are not allowed to fight a fellow hero just for kicks and no valid reason. But this will be a spar or a practice bout. There's nothing written in the Hero handbook that it's forbidden as long as both agreed and no fatal injuries occurred during the match. We are both ranked last in our respective classes. You're a C class while I'm an S class."

Saitama scowled at the last sentence, much to the esper's gratification.

"Every hero can be ranked according to popularity so a spar with a fellow hero can be seen with different interpretations by the public, but we're still new and there's no one watching us here so it doesn't matter."

Saitama perked up in interest. "Popularity? I think –"

"It doesn't matter okay!" The esper snapped back, not liking someone intruding her explanation. Saitama put a hand on his waist, looking bummed out.

Tatsumaki cleared her throat and continued, "Anyway, our rule here is this: fight until your opponent can't fight anymore. Take it seriously and no fooling around. It's just that simple that even you could get it."

"Well, I did promise you to fight." Saitama walked for a couple of paces away and turned to face the esper. "Is right here good?"

"That seems to be enough."

Tatsumaki clenched her hands to a fist.

 _You don't know how many frustrations you have put me through. And you'll pay for every damned second of it. I'll find out your annoying secret with my bare hands._

She unfurled one hand and a green ball of energy coalesced. "Now, let's get started."

At the flick of her wrist the green ball of energy shot forward to Saitama. Before it made impact to the caped baldy's face, it emitted an intense glow of light, some of it even reflected by his shiny head.

Tatsumaki dashed forward and brought her glowing right hand to a forward thrust towards the caped hero before the flash faded. To her surprise though, Saitama leaned back to an impossible flat angle on his knees, effectively evading the esper's attack.

She passed over Saitama and if it wasn't so fast Tatsumaki would have accused him of being a pervert.

With her first string of attacks failing, Tatsumaki greatly slowed her forward momentum and maneuvered in a half circle to her left to slash at Saitama's face using her left hand.

In his ever comical response, Saitama returned to his standing position as if time wound back itself. The first thing he saw when he stared ahead was green orbs of energy coming straight right at him.

 _I'm not done yet._ Tatsumaki smirked as she created a barrier around her, landing in a crouch.

Saitama jumped high to evade the incoming projectiles. The spot where he previously stood were bombarded and puffs of dusts scattered in the air.

While airborne, the caped hero took a moment to look at the dust clouds when a green beam of light pierced out from it to slash at him in a wide arch.

Saitama blurred out as the extending beam sliced at him. The cliff's edge behind him was cut and rocks started to fall down.

"That was close." Saitama said after landing, looking at the carved cliff side. "You almost took out my cape."

The light retracted back to the receding dusts and into Tatsumaki's hand. She lowered her arm and took a couple of deep breaths.

 _Dammit. All those attacks are either in his blind spot or unexpected, and yet not one connected. He isn't taking any attacks unlike last time with the monster. I may be too slow? Well then, time to change tactics._

Tatsumaki momentarily closed her eyes and she glowed in a deep shade of green. The outline was thicker this time and it began to separate from her as if it was her soul projecting out of her body.

She bolted her eyes open.

 _Astral Double._

A green outline of Tatsumaki stood in front of her, its hands to a sharp point and glistening hot white.

 _This is different than a simple duplication. It isn't made to fool the enemy. This double can fight in close range like I do. And make no mistake, this can move as fast as I am._

The outline Tatsumaki crouched low.

"Go."

The green duplicate began to dash towards the bald hero, with Tatsumaki following behind. Likewise, Saitama blurred out and sped along the field, two flashes of green at his tail.

The double Tatsumaki slashed while the real Tatsumaki unleashed orbs of energy or hurled rocks towards Saitama. The orbs and debris can pass through the attacking double. That way, Saitama didn't know where her next attack would come from and Tatsumaki timed her attacks at the best possible openings created by her double.

Saitama dodged the slashes and all the incoming projectiles in a ridiculous rate. Even with all those thrown at him, he managed to be a split second faster to dodge both of Tatsumaki's attacks much to the esper's disbelief.

The two moved towards a cliff face and soon enough, it crumbled to pieces due to their battle.

Rocks flew everywhere as explosions after explosions blasted the cliff side to a smoldering ruin.

In a split second, the rocks around them stopped. Tatsumaki gathered all the loose rocks and began to cover Saitama like a cocoon. Rocks of different sizes pooled on him as he was encased in a spherical rock formation.

"NOW!"

The double stabbed the sphere, its arm dug deep and the blade through and through.

 _I may not control you but I can still control things around you to keep you steady._

For good measure, Tatsumaki squeezed her hand to a fist and the sphere shrunk, pulverizing the rock within.

 _Hmm, I may have been too overboard._

The esper released her grip on the rock ball but to her surprise, no one was inside of it. It was only rubble and her double didn't hit anything.

 _Wait – where?_

She turned away from the cliff and noticed a trail of dust clouds from afar.

 _That slimy bastard! Was I attacking an after-image all this time?!_

 _Dammit. This leaves me no choice._

Tatsumaki created another replica but the first one lost its edged hands and some brightness. Its hands now were an outline of a normal hand.

 _I need to catch that baldy to make this work._

Two replicas floated on her flank.

"Go."

The two sped forward.

 _You won't get away this time._

Saitama was running in an absurd speed without any strain on his face. At the edge of his peripheral vision, he noticed a green thing in both of his right and left. The beings started to lunge at him, clawing at him like a cat on a mouse.

As usual, he evaded those attacks with ease. It was like two Panics were trying to grab at him with all these speed around him. He would only react at the last possible chance before evading the next.

While running, the ground in front of him was suddenly raised to block his way.

He vaulted over it while evading being caught. It seemed Mother Nature wasn't on his side as the ground changed elevation from time to time, intent to make his life harder.

In a quick series of events, Saitama parkoured through the changing landscape with the two green beings trailing him. He might compare this as some sort of a workout and this challenge was literally new to him. The esper seemed capable of doing efficient combos one after the other that was more persistent than the last. Saitama could see why she was ranked S class right off the bat. He didn't see her do any of these while she was fighting those monsters before.

Her attempts almost made a good challenge.

Almost.

To Saitama's surprise (and because he was thinking what to eat after all this), he felt something pulled his right hand and looked at it. Somehow, someway, one of the two glow-in-the-dark beings caught him by the hand and won't let go.

At this, Saitama stopped. Whether he was amazed or not can't be known due to his legendary poker face.

He then felt a weight on his back. Of course, the other one latched onto it.

"Oh, you caught me." Saitama said, unperturbed that two ethereal beings were pinning him down.

Tatsumaki landed a distance in front of him. She clasped her hands tight together and Saitama felt pressure boring down on him.

 _Finally got you. Those two are physical entities that can keep something steady by enhancing gravity itself hundredfold from where they are placed. Even you can't defy the law of nature._

A pillar of green light stretching towards the sky appeared on the bald hero.

Tatsumaki stretched her arms forward.

"Astral Tornado!"

A fierce whirlwind began to appear inside the green pillar that picked up speed with each passing second. The pillar was like a blender of destruction, slicing everything inside. Visibility was impossible with all the picked up dusts from the ground.

She can actually do this without all this setup but she wanted to concentrate all of it in a confined space to maximize damage. This was her preferred move before she thought of more conventional attacks. It will literally tear anyone apart inside out or be sliced-and-diced from the outside. The pillar has a secondary use by preventing their blood and guts from spreading all across the field.

"I didn't call myself the Terrible Tornado for nothing." Tatsumaki muttered with a smirk. She felt something tapping her shoulder and turned her head, but felt something poke her cheek.

"Okay, you're it." Saitama teased behind her.

A grin blossomed in Tatsumaki's lips much to Saitama's confusion.

"No, I'm not."

Cracks appeared on the esper's punctured cheek and an intense green ray of light leaked out from it

"Oh, what–"

A catastrophic explosion occurred in front of Saitama as dust flew away and a shockwave rippled across the field.

Far away from the explosion site and standing atop of a cliff, Tatsumaki stared at the trap she set up. There was a circular marking where her previous attack happened and a crater not too far from it.

She crouched low as exhaustion took place.

 _I know you'll pull something like that. But still, I haven't done something like this in quick succession before. This is running me ragged very quickly. Maybe I hit him this –_

She then felt something patting her head.

Tatsumaki turned to her side and saw the yellow eyesore hero standing beside her, continually patting her head much like a dog. There was not a single damage on him and her attacks so far didn't leave any as a scratch.

"Not bad at all. You have cool moves. You nearly ripped away my costume there." Saitama said looking at the horizon.

 _WHAT!? HOW, YOU BALD BASTARD?!_

At this humiliating gesture and eyes brimming with rage, the esper released an exasperated cry and slashed at Saitama using both her hands. Saitama simply jumped off the cliff.

But the enraged esper wasn't done yet. She dived at him and continually slashed at him, grunting from time to time.

Saitama dodged every attack like he did earlier, but he noticed there was a different feel in it. Tatsumaki's attacks were slower and few but had more force in it. It wasn't strategical like her earlier series of combos as she just sliced in a blind rage not caring if she's doing was the most effective option. Sure, she's maybe tired now but she was simply attacking recklessly in hopes she might land a hit, getting punched back in return from all those vulnerable spots she's making be damned.

This wasn't like her at all.

Saitama sidestepped an overhead vertical slash that could have bisected him from top to bottom, but the move was so obvious that he could spot it a mile away. There would be a considerable recovery time being prone from such a devastating move. Her attack would create a strong momentum that she needed to recover from to start attacking again. It was a risky attack indeed that could have decided a fight, be it in her favor or her opponent.

 _She's letting her anger get the best of her._

With a sigh and crouching low, Saitama raised a hand towards Tatsumaki's forehead and flicked it ever so slightly.

"Hey, don't push yourself too hard. Calm down."

There was a moment of clarity when Tatsumaki blinked a few times to absorb those words. Gritting her teeth, she slashed at him but Saitama jumped away from her. He landed awkwardly so he balanced himself for a moment and then stood still.

"Y-you're making fun of me." Tatsumaki seethed. "I'm giving it my all and you're treating it like we're playing childish games!"

Saitama cocked his head to one side.

"We have a simple rule," continued the esper. "Fight until your opponent can't fight any more. Is that so hard to understand? You are just running around instead of fighting me! You're disrespecting me for not taking this seriously!"

Saitama's eyes sharpened.

"Good. Now, let's conti–"

The bald hero suddenly appeared right in front of her, too close for comfort. Tatsumaki dashed away but Saitama blurred out of existence once again. Out of instinct, the esper slashed behind her and felt resistance. She discovered that Saitama parried her attack by holding her hand in a vice like grip.

She was about to attack using her other hand when she sensed a tremendous killing intent that drowned out all her senses. It shook her to her very core, gripping her with a paralyzing fear that she didn't know exist. The next thing she knew was a red fist coming straight right at her.

Right then and there, Tatsumaki thought she was going to die. This moment was nothing compared to that near-death experience with that mosquito girl. Her life didn't flash before her eyes as she couldn't do anything at all in response. Her mind was in total shutdown and all that training in the world could not prepare her for this.

Her emerald eyes widened as the imminent attack that would instantly vaporize her from the face of earth came closer. Its trajectory changed though, veering to the left just above her left shoulder.

The punch stopped but it was followed by a deafening, violent shockwave that tore straight through its direction. Tatsumaki could feel the ground rumbling behind her, a cataclysm only amounted to a force of nature.

Staring ahead, there was a different man in front of her. His piercing eyes were staring straight at her soul and his expression in a grim seriousness as if his totality of existence was weighing heavily upon her.

She could not remember fighting a demon.

The man bowed his head and let go of her hand. When he showed his face again, he was back to that normal bald person she was so accustomed to, smiling in that stupid, carefree manner of his.

Saitama patted her head a couple of times.

"You've calmed down. I'm starving. Let's go eat." The bald man turned around and comically marched away from her.

Tatsumaki stopped floating and dropped on her bottom. One by one, her bodily functions came back online. Her body remembered to breathe again and it gasped for air as much as it could. Blinking back multiples times, she found out that tears were trying to escape her eyes. She needed to wipe it by her hands to not let it completely pour down. It was then that she noticed that her hands were trembling. She sniffed and gulped heavily to calm herself down a bit.

That was the most terrifying feeling she had felt in her entire existence. She had never felt a singular, concentrated fear like that. That alone managed to make her unable to fight anymore.

Was that what the monster felt when he abruptly stopped his first strike?

Every one of her senses overloaded with the same fright response that it conflicted with one another, confusing her by not knowing what to do next.

She knew fear but not like this.

In an early age, she knew fear. That hopeless feeling of not knowing if she'll be spared for another day was instilled in her. Being experimented and tortured to break the very limits of her telekinetic abilities, all she wanted was the safety of her sister. Fear made her realize that she's weak and it drove her to be strong.

But this kind of fear. This was a whole new level. It was a primal fear that outright disables any fight-or-flight reactions. All she could do was accept her inevitable fate and be done with it. Any will to fight was obliterated in the face of sheer hopelessness. Considering it was her, who had been through so much had been brought to her knees just like that was astonishing.

Tatsumaki looked behind her to know what his singular attack caused, and it made her eyes go wide.

Saitama's punch wiped out the cliff and anything behind it, a circular carving that stretched towards the horizon, even the clouds above was shaped accordingly.

And that was only caused by his punch's momentum.

 _That was his only attack in our fight,_ Tatsumaki thought. _He's on a completely different level._

Tatsumaki tried to stand on her feet but felt her legs were made of jello. In addition that she was spent after all her efforts, she was still shell-shocked.

She raised her head and noticed a gloved hand stretched towards her.

"You okay?"

It was that demon Saitama.

Typically, Tatsumaki would have wanted nothing in this world but to slap that goddamned display of pity, but she reached out nonetheless and pulled to get up to a standing position.

"You like udon?" Saitama asked. "I know a great restaurant nearby so let's get a bite."

"Uh, okay." Tatsumaki replied absently. "I'm… hungry too."

She was holding the hand that could have killed her earlier.

 _It looked so menacing earlier, but why does it feel so different when I'm holding it?_

The two looked like two warriors shaking hands after a great fight but Tatsumaki knew it wasn't remotely close.

Saitama let go of her hand and started to walk away. Tatsumaki followed suit without a word.

x-x-x

The two heroes were inside a restaurant Saitama suggested. It was one of the cheapest restaurants Saitama knew that still have a great dish to boot; a bang for his buck since he was running low on funds lately. He fixed his wrecked apartment earlier that day and even if he did do it by himself, he still needed some supplies to actually repair it.

What bothered him somewhat was this girl in front of him. She's uncharacteristically silent unlike the few days he was with her. Her squeaky voice was always grating in his ears but her silence was unnerving him.

Did he scare her too much? That's what she wanted, right? After all, he followed her rules. He did went serious for a moment but never did he wanted to give this girl PTSD or any emotional scar. She's still relatively young and things like that weren't always a good souvenir in one's mind.

They got their orders a few minutes later. Saitama always appreciated this moment of joy in his life. The first taste of udon really reminds him that there's still hope in this world.

After taking a few bites, he noticed the esper haven't touched her food yet.

"You don't like udon?" Saitama asked.

"No. It's just… I haven't eaten here."

"Try it with this sauce on top first and see where it goes from there."

Tatsumaki raised an eyebrow on his suggestion. If she didn't know any better, it's like he's trying to teach her how to eat.

She did as he suggested and her eyes widened. It soon followed by her eating in a normal rate.

"It tastes good, doesn't it?" Saitama asked.

Tatsumaki gave the bald man a glance.

"Hey, it's not because I like this or anything. I'm just hungry." She stubbornly answered and then went back from eating.

 _I can't say I miss that,_ Saitama thought, going back to his bowl.

After a while, squeals of joy erupted in the restaurant. Saitama was confused what was going on as Tatsumaki just ignored the noises, too busy from eating her second filling.

A handsome man with blue hair that framed over his head and face had entered the restaurant. He was wearing a white suit over a dark blue shirt. There was a circular pendant with an expensive looking crystal at its center hanging on his neck.

He walked towards the two heroes' table, all the while ignoring the look of adoration thrown at his way by some customers, and began to speak in a very fluid accent, "I've finally found you."

Saitama suddenly wondered why someone was looking for him when he realized the man was actually staring at the green haired girl. He got the feeling he had seen this man before but could not remember where or when.

"I never expected you to be here. Well, everything to be honest." The man said. "It's been a while now, Tatsumaki."

Tatsumaki didn't look at the man's direction.

She put down her chopsticks rather stiffly and replied in a flat tone, "It's very unpleasant to see you again, Class A rank 1, Sweet Mask."

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **Wow. A very long chapter indeed. This is supposed to be 2 chapters but I thought what the heck, might as well go with it. I'm not very good in narrating a battle so excuse my stunted storytelling. Aside from the ever present mistakes, I do hope it's clear to readers how it went. It is stylized like the anime so pardon about the changes. The updates are getting slower since life is throwing lemon shaped cement at my face. Still, I will update this as much as I can.**

 **As for the reviews/favs/follows, I'm kinda surprised how this lowly fic garnered some attention. it just... exploded for some reason.**

 **Well, reviews are appreciated and see you in the next chapter!**


	9. Welcome to S Class

**Chapter 9: Welcome to S Class**

* * *

It was unbelievable. No, it was unbelievably frustrating that Tatsumaki could literally die in shame.

Staring at the man who was leading her to who knows what god-forsaken restaurant, Tatsumaki had never felt so humiliated in her life; her absolute fortress of self-belief over the years had been demolished in less than a weeks' time. First it was her carelessness against that Mosquito girl and then the embarrassing showing against that beetle monster. Now, a C class, a freaking bottom ranked C class defeated her, an S class of all rank, not of a knock-out, heck, not even because she was hurt but because she was scared to death! Adding insult to injury, he was acting everything's alright as if all of this didn't happen.

Why did she let this bald bastard order her around, huh? Why did she even agree to eat with this… this C class?! Before, her sister's group of B class heroes disgusted her to no end. They were so pathetic and spineless cowards that they don't deserved to be called heroes in the first place.

But why in the whole spacious green Earth was she following a C CLASS?!

She hasn't done anything as a hero and yet she debuted in the most disgraceful manner of a loss against a bottom ranked C Class!

It was very degrading and all sorts of questions and thoughts with the same irritating subject clashed violently inside Tatsumaki's mind. Even the rational part of her mind can't function properly as she instantly agreed to what he's asking.

If he asked her to go to hell, she'll probably do it out of spite.

It was incredibly galling but what can she do about it? He won and there's nothing in this world could change that. On the other hand, she lost 3 consecutive times in a more embarrassing manner than the last and all of it was in front of him. All those steely foundations she had built within herself now lay utterly useless beneath her feet. It was futile and bloody meaningless, all of it.

She had to admit, he did follow her rule but not in the way she expected. He took it quite literally and in the most effective and effortless way possible like always. It was enough to quickly finish the fight right before he remotely did something.

And that was what more frustrating about it: he LET her do all her moves first. He could have finished it in the blink of an eye before she did anything. But no. He gave first the impression it was a battle and then did something. It looked so innocent until she thought about it.

It was supposed to measure his strength, not show how truly a weakling she is.

Despite all that, she couldn't speak out or do anything in protest. He did keep his promise and she couldn't complain. Adding all those happened in one week alone in this very moment, she had been reduced to her former self of taking orders without speaking her mind out first. She was like a zombie all those years ago.

So she kept quiet and kept all these things to herself like before. If this was what Fubuki felt all this time, she couldn't help but wonder how her sister could hang on to this crappy sensation without going mad.

"Oh, we're here." The snot of a C Class said, pointing to a building.

Tatsumaki raised her head that she kept bowed in an indefinite amount of time and looked at the restaurant. It was a painfully ordinary second story building and if it wasn't for a sign it's a restaurant, no one would even know it was one. Tatsumaki has no crap to give anymore in her current mindset to complain how tasteless this… C class has in choosing a restaurant. At least Fubuki and her group have a fashion sense despite all their glaring faults.

The two went inside and ordered their food. Again, Tatsumaki had left the decision making to that C class. The reason why she did that was miles away and she was so bummed out to go search for it. He might as well order something poisonous and still she won't have any problems with it.

The next thing she knew was there's a bowl of udon in front of her. Tatsumaki stared at it and an unbidden memory shot in her mind.

 _Here's your food. Try not to choke on it. We still need to perform some tests on you._

This was now officially her nightmares coming to life.

"You don't like udon?" this question snapped Tatsumaki back to reality.

"No. it's just… I haven't eaten here." It was true, though she felt like an idiot for saying it.

"Try it with this sauce on top first and see where it goes from there."

Tatsumaki raised an eyebrow. She was being ordered again but damn it to hell, she will still comply regardless.

She did as she was instructed all the while feeling silly. The food reached her lips and her eyes widened.

 _This is surprisingly good. For a cheap restaurant, this is very exceptional. At least he has some taste in food._

"It tastes good, doesn't it?" Saitama asked.

Emerald eyes glared at the intruding man.

"Hey, it's not because I like this or anything. I'm just hungry."She answered and went back to her food.

This response was expected by Saitama but to Tatsumaki, she was surprised at herself. She wondered how quickly she reverted back to her casual self after just experiencing a traumatic event. As irritating as this C class was, it was he who ordered the food and made this possible.

 _It must be the food. I'm sure of it._

Tatsumaki continued her food, not minding how she presented herself, table etiquettes be damned. It might have been she's using food as an outlet for her misery but the taste of udon made her realize she's hungry.

The esper finished her bowl faster than Saitama expected. She ordered another one without further ado and waited silently.

Saitama was resisting to challenge her to the restaurant's udon challenge if she's this hungry. Actually, he was not expecting her to eat this much given her small frame. A kid's meal was more likely her type of menu.

After a while, squeals of rapture echoed around the place. Saitama was surprised about this while Tatsumaki was too engrossed eating.

A man with blue hair walked towards the two heroes' table.

"I've finally found you."

Saitama looked at the man blandly in glaring contrast to those other customers who were starstruck.

"I never expected you to be here. Well, everything to be honest." The man said. "It's been a while now, Tatsumaki."

Tatsumaki didn't look at the man's direction. She put down her chopsticks and replied flatly, "It's very unpleasant to see you again, Class A rank 1, Sweet Mask."

"Class A, rank 1?" Saitama repeated. At the pit of his stomach, he felt bad vibes from the man. He did encounter someone who was willing to ruin his hero career right after he became one yesterday. That incident surprisingly made him annoyed and it's quite unbelievable something like that actually exists among heroes.

"It's Sweet Mask!" one of the female customers said in delight. Others followed in their adorations while the 3 heroes ignored them altogether.

The man swiped a few strands of hair off his face. "Still the same as always, I presume? You know how this works, don't you?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

"Hey," Saitama whispered to Tatsumaki's direction. "He might be a rookie crusher. Be careful."

Tatsumaki gave him a glance.

Was he worried about her?

…or felt jealous?

Tatsumaki quickly banished those thoughts. She wondered why she would entertain those crazy assumptions in the first place.

"Don't worry. This won't take long." Tatsumaki then stood up. The handsome man smiled for her compliance and the two went out of the restaurant.

Gossips instantly sprouted when the two left. Whispers of assumptions on why's and the how's buzzed around. They talked among themselves, having the decency not to follow the two. Saitama, though, zoned this out completely. He was more interested in the udon challenge instead of the visiting pop celebrity.

 _Hmm, maybe I'll try my luck this time._

x-x-x

"How long has it been Tatsumaki?" began the blue haired man.

"Since you've attacked my sister and her group." The esper answered succinctly.

Sweet Mask tilted his head to one side, a small smile curving in his lips. "Hmm. If I remember correctly, they're the ones who attacked me. Your sister only followed since her underlings went on their own accord. They could have gone first to the Samurai's apprentices but no, they went over their heads and got hurt. That was when you showed up."

"Are you here to continue our fight? I'm not in a very good mood today so let's start –"

Sweet Mask raised a hand to ward her. If Tatsumaki's battle memory serves right, it was the same arm she had cut off from him, and he had simply re-attached it like it was a puzzle piece.

"I'm not here to fight you again," replied Sweet Mask calmly. "And you know that's not my style. You see, you have what it takes what your sister couldn't accomplish. I was actually surprised when I was informed you registered." He put his raised hand inside his pants' pocket and continued, "How was the Hero examination?"

"Utter crap. I can't believe the exam's very easy."

The blue haired man frowned slightly. "You always do exceptionally well academically and our little battle before proved something."

"You're here to compliment me?"

"I'm here to welcome you. I'll let your criticism slide since I'm more interested now that you're here. You know how I work and as I said, you have both the skill and grace that fits in that: a beautiful symbol of justice. You're not afraid to administer justice swiftly nor are you easily swayed. My only regret is that I came too late to prevent the disaster festering in the Class S, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt."

Sweet Mask walked past Tatsumaki.

"Welcome to the Hero Association. I wonder how your sister would react seeing you now."

He put a hand on Tatsumaki's shoulder. At this, she quickly began to swipe his hand away, but her arm phased through the man as if he was a hologram.

"Temper, temper. That won't happen again like last time." The man walked away nonchalantly. "Anyway, we expect great things from you," he added and was lost into the night.

Tatsumaki went back inside the restaurant her mood plummeted lower than before.

Why do crappy things seemed to come in packs in her life? Before she recovered from the first, another would barge in uninvited and complicate things. She knew that she went through far worse situations than being greeted hollowly by some pop idol.

She returned to her seat and the first thing that greeted her was Saitama chugging a blue bucket.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Tatsumaki asked.

Saitama put down the bucket. He resisted to burp and answered, "The… udon challenge. Just give me a few minutes here." He then went back to his bucket

Tatsumaki's mind couldn't comprehend if she should be mad about this. What was she expecting? That she will stumble a glooming rejected man because she talked to a handsome prominent celebrity?

She quickly crushed all this invasive thoughts in her mind for the umpteenth time now. Be it because of her bad mood or the freaking food, she decided to rest for a few days to recover from this madness.

At long last, Saitama managed to finish the whole thing and Tatsumaki wasn't sure if he's human anymore.

"Gah! I did it!" Saitama exclaimed and leaned on his seat. "I thought I was gonna die but I persevered through the end. I know the result is worthwhile." The restaurant's cook went to Saitama and handed him a laced letter that served as a price and congratulated him.

Tatsumaki simply stared at what's unfolding. "Let me get this straight," she said, making sense out of all this. "You are doing this silly challenge, eating a bucket of udon while I was outside talking with someone?"

"Yeah. I'm low in funds lately so the price money really helps." The bald man answered, waiving his price money.

Tatsumaki resisted face palming or walking out from the restaurant. If he was trying to impress her, then he accomplished the opposite.

"So what did you two do outside?" Saitama asked. "He didn't come here to fight you, did he?"

 _Finally. Something involving me._ "No, he didn't. I know that man before and he isn't like that. You could say he welcomed me as an S class."

"Woah. S Class and C Class sure are treated differently."

"You have no idea." Tatsumaki mumbled.

While waiting for Saitama to recover from such a ridiculous local challenge, Tatsumaki could hear whispers buzzing around the restaurant. It was fortunate that they aren't in a famous restaurant filled with obnoxious people or else they'll mob Sweet Mask for the celebrity that he is. It'll be major headlines that would fill the celebrity news tomorrow.

Still, being talked to personally by the man, there would be undoubtedly some side comments here and there by the few people who saw it. Tatsumaki was far from being those dopey eyed fan girls who were dying for a single glance or handshake by their idol. She valued one's strength and abilities rather than looks and charm – which were what Fubuki failed to grasp when it comes to her own image.

If Sweet Mask talked to her in private, what would that insinuate? She was not yet known to the world as a hero and now she was bogged down by gossips by envious fan girls.

Not that she really cared, though.

Instead, she reflected everything that had happened earlier. Sweet Mask was strong, unexpectedly so. Celebrities of his kind usually were fragile little wimps that couldn't handle a little stress outside their comfort zone, running with their tails between their legs to their bodyguards whenever feeling a little scratch, but not him. He was not the top ranked Class A for nothing, and he could be in Class S if he wanted.

He was strong indeed but compared to someone she recently knew, it wasn't even close.

Tatsumaki stared at the bald man who was chewing ice like a gum and slouching on his seat with a carefree expression.

 _Not even close in all aspects._

x-x-x

The two heroes left the restaurant and started to walk towards their apartment building. Saitama was still in his euphoria about his beloved prize money, ogling for all it's worth. It wasn't that large and to Tatsumaki, it was only pocket change for her.

"Now that I've kept my side of the bargain, I say we're even now." Saitama said.

The words struck a nerve in Tatsumaki. "…Yeah." _Even? You call that even?!_

"Starting today we're professional heroes now. Let's do our best."

"I… don't know what's great about it."

Saitama's eyebrow knitted. "What's that all about? You're an S Class hero so I don't know what's wrong with it."

Tatsumaki stopped in her walk. All the things that made this day crappy barged in her mind and reminded her what was truly wrong.

"What's wrong? You know what's wrong?" she condescendingly repeated. She couldn't hold it any longer and it was starting to slip.

Saitama turned around and stared at her.

"How can I call myself an S Class if you, a C Class, just defeated me?! How would that make me feel, huh? Apparently, I'm just a pathetic S class who hasn't even started yet!" Tatsumaki was feeling argumentative and it was uncharacteristic of her to degrade herself using her own words. She felt disgustingly weak but to think about it, that's all she was in front of him. He had seen how she was defeated before and he himself had defeated her.

What was the point of hiding it anymore?

Saitama sighed. "So this is what it's all about." Tatsumaki stayed silent, noticing his tone changed a bit serious like before. He put a hand on his waist and continued, "You got it all wrong. Ranks or whatever, it doesn't matter. You are you. It wouldn't change anything what you are."

"Then what is it for?" Tatsumaki retorted. "It's what defines the strong from the weak."

"Again, you took it all wrong. You're strong not because someone is weaker than you. It just tells you that you did something about your own weaknesses. Isn't that why someone wants to change – even you? I already said this once."

Tatsumaki was surprised at his answer. It was something that she had not expected from him. He can be an utter moron at times but when looking at him this serious, she felt that there was something beneath his expressionless face and insensitivity. Now, he was saying that almost hit home.

"How can you say that," Tatsumaki said under her breath. "You barely know me and yet you're acting you know everything. Just because you're stronger than me, you have the right to lecture me this and that!"

"No, I don't actually." Saitama replied calmly and turned around, to Tatsumaki's surprise again. "I won't pretend I know everything and I'm sure I don't know a slightest thing about you."

He returned his gaze at her, his eyes uncharacteristically sharp. "But I can only say is this: you're overly thinking things."

The words hit Tatsumaki hard. It was the same words she had been saying to her sister repeatedly and she could see herself staring balefully at her. After a bitter string of defeats, she realized she was sliding unconsciously to her sister's personality. It was a horrible realization that Tatsumaki would never have imagine to occur to her life. It this wasn't straightened out quickly, she would only slide down further much like her sister.

 _I have no choice. I need to do this now._

There was a war raging within Tatsumaki's mind. Her inner self was revolting fiercely that this attempt was all a waste of time. It was extremely ridiculous how she would sink this low - no less to a baldy bottom ranked C Class. Have she become so desperate to hand something so important to someone she barely knew?

 _Why? Why go that far? Are you freaking serious? There has to be some other way. You can still –_

Tatsumaki took a deep breath and looked at Saitama resolutely. "Then teach me how to be strong." She said before her mind could protest.

Saitama did a double-take. "W…what?"

"You heard what I said. Teach me how to be strong." Her mind was still reeling and no doubt Saitama too but she didn't care. It had to be done. She'll think later.

Saitama thought for a few seconds while Tatsumaki has her own war to struggle against.

"…How old are you?" he asked.

Tatsumaki blinked. "What? Does it really matter?"

Saitama crossed his arms and continued to stare at her, not bulging from her demand.

The esper released a sigh. "I'm… 22 years old."

Saitama visibly flinched. "Really now?"

"Is there something wrong about it, huh? You find it funny because of how I look?"

"No. It was in that same age I started training."

"Oh."

"Now that you've said it, I find it quite odd though." Saitama said, looking up towards starry sky.

Tatsumaki resisted throwing a tantrum. She already has something to be mad about later and this conversation was starting to veer off topic.

Saitama shrugged. "Well, I know there's some reason for it but it doesn't really matter."

 _Thank heavens. At least someone didn't make it a big deal. Maybe he's just repaying me for my reaction to his rank yesterday._ "Then why did you asked me about it?"

"I was in that same age when I started training. In that age, you felt you have seen everything and you've established your own perceptions and limits in life. Age doesn't really matter but the longer you put yourself in your box, the harder it is to get out. It wasn't easy in my case but I do know you can do it too."

"You're not gonna let me do your… training regimen for three years, right?"

"We have different situations, I guess." Saitama put a hand on his chin. "How about this: we'll have this practice spar like earlier once a week or so. That way, you can gauge your progress."

 _Not bad,_ Tatsumaki admitted.

"I'll make some rules to change it a bit. You have yours earlier so this time, I'll create mine. I'll then try to point out what you needed to improve on based on it. I already noticed something earlier."

"I don't see anything wrong how I fight earlier." Tatsumaki demurred.

"You're letting your anger get the best of you. It should fuel you, not let you dictate how you fight or cloud your judgment. You better control your emotions, at least in a fight."

"Hmph! That's what I am. I can't change it."

"I thought that you wanted me to teach you?"

"F-fine. I'll try your advice next time. Wait. So do you agree to teach me?"

"I guess. I'm not cut out for this sort of stuff to be honest."

There was a few seconds of silence. Tatsumaki looked down and fidgeted. "Should I call you teacher or… m-master from now on?"

Saitama choked on his own saliva. "What?! No! Of course not! It's just Saitama. Saitama's fine." If he'll hear someone calling him teacher or master incessantly, his ears will practically bleed. It would probably be his nose if it was a girl.

"O-okay, S-Saitama." Tatsumaki could die from awkwardness now.

"Well, let's go. It's getting late now. "

"Uh, yeah."

"You're not gonna leave me like last time, do you?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Ahh, no. It's fine. There aren't a lot of people here so it's a change of pace."

"Oh, okay."

The two resumed their walk towards their apartment building and to Tatsumaki, she was sure crazy days would follow. Still, she'll hunker down and not show her face to the world for a few days (or a couple of years) to make amends with her tumultuous mind. She might totally come to her senses tomorrow morning and she'll regret this decision till the day she'll die. But looking beside her, she felt it wasn't all that bad.

It was a very strange feeling that she can't put a finger on. This was all too new and she supposed she'll get used to it as time flies by. It's not like she had consigned her fate to oblivion. It was to her betterment, she reminded herself.

If this was what Fubuki felt why she started getting along with people, she now slightly understands her side. It felt light and… reassuring to say the least. She's still not like her who would befriend so many people. Too much people can become nuisances so one was enough.

Aside from her mentor's blaring idiosyncrasies, maybe she could learn a thing or two along the way in this crazy decision. Actually, she could not believe she has a mentor to call her own. An S class under a C class? It was the end of the world indeed, and to her it might be.

Or perhaps, it was a new beginning?

Either way, she shrugged the thoughts away. It was still too early to jump to conclusions and this won't have any immediate impact. For now, she'll just have to deal with the consequences, both of this decision and her being an S rank hero from now on.

In the gloomy illumination of the city light posts, the howling of the cool breeze, the eerie absence of people and under the starry night sky, the two walked in relative silence, side by side.

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **The chapter's end is in contrast to Episode 5's ending where Genos and Saitama apparently separated. I find it more fitting and quite easy to imagine how the chapter's end would look like if you have watched the episode.**

 **In this story, Sweet Mask and Tatsumaki had fought before right in front of Fubuki, though it ended in a stalemate. I know. Sweet Mask isn't on par with Tatsumaki in canon. It's something I had thought before I wrote this story so bear with it. It also pushed her to be Saitama's disciple after comparing the two in their battles.**

 **Sorry for the long update. Life has been a big hindrance as of late and I have been reading the manga. I might update late again but I promise that there would be an update, sooner or later.**

 **Well, reviews are appreciated and see you in the next chapter!**


	10. Back to the House

**Chapter 10: Back to the House**

* * *

It only took Tatsumaki 3 days to get her mind sorted again. The first 2 days were excruciating to her ego as whenever she would try to think about that fateful day a voice inside her would reprimand her with the vilest of putdowns. It was an act of the highest treachery and she was so damned sure she would start as a hero with her philosophy leading her. Now, those voices haunted and taunted her to no end. In just a day, she abandoned those same ideals by reaching out for help. As the saying goes, one self is the most brutal critic. Her life so far had always been to trust no one but herself. It wasn't been easy in any regard but she got used to it.

It was then that she would stumble upon the self-proclaimed bald hero, Saitama. Granted, her now "mentor" didn't know the real reason why she was in City Z. It was a personal matter and she didn't want someone to get involved anymore. She got sidelined because he once saved her life, a situation that she once thought was impossible to happen. Far be it for her to not return the favor. Also she found out that he was a real freak of nature in terms of strength.

And she thought she was strong in one point in her life.

The strange meeting with this bald freak and then the incident with the House of Evolution gave her things to reflect upon.

First, he wasn't just a "bottom ranked C class". He was the strongest person Tatsumaki had ever met who disposes enemies with just a single punch. It was quite a surprise that this overly powered man wasn't well known throughout the world for his absurd strength. The rankings were indeed irrelevant. He was simply stronger than her instead of her being weak.

Second, the incident with the House of Evolution made her realize that she still wasn't powerful enough. Not weak; only not powerful enough. Mosquito Girl and Carnage Kabuto brought her to her knees, and if anyone told her she would lose two consecutive times, she would laugh and scoff at such an outrageous claim. She was Senritsu no Tatsumaki, the most powerful esper in the world, the Terrible Tornado, the one who rips and shreds anyone in her way in the most gruesome manner. Now, she had devised many more attacks that would put terror in the hearts of her enemies.

Those titles she had put on herself were now utterly useless. It exposed her to the harsh reality that there was still someone out there more powerful than her. She had a hard time dealing with those monsters of the House of Evolution that perhaps any organization that took Fubuki could also harbor such powerful beasts. If she stumbled upon an organization of the same level, her rescue efforts would be meaningless. It's not that far too think that she might be captured in the process.

The dawning realization was enlightening and it gave relief to her bruised pride somehow.

Still though, those few days Tatsumaki didn't have the guts to go out of her apartment yet. There was this irrational fear in her to see Saitama. The picture of him in a very grim and serious manner still gave her chills in her spine. It seemed that there were two people inhabiting that body; his secret that she annoyingly wanted to know only bred more questions. Fighting him didn't even give her a sliver of an answer. It only showed the how and not the why, which she really wanted to know.

There was one person who was also very curious about Saitama's strength and, given his background, he might have the tentative answer to all this anomaly and nonsense.

On the fourth day, Tatsumaki geared up to get out of her accursed self-exile. She opened the door towards the outside world and, stepping outside, looked around and spotted no one.

 _So far so good._

If she saw Saitama she might crawl back to her refuge out of embarrassment. It was outright ridiculous but Tatsumaki couldn't help herself. It was indeed the end of the world.

Tatsumaki flew towards her destination before she got cold feet. It would take hours again like last time and she wasn't sure if he was still there after all that happened. She just needed to take the chance this time.

 _I need to know,_ Tatsumaki thought as she sped towards the horizon.

x-x-x

Tatsumaki arrived at the once forest that she blew up together with a building that was ill placed in the middle of the forest. The devastation trail was stretched for more than the intended target, leaving the earth scarred from bird's eye view. There may be some collateral environmental damage along the way.

 _I really overdid it. If someone found out I did this, I may get in trouble with some environmental groups._

The esper landed on the spot where a building once stood. It was barricaded with an iron fence by the Hero Association for further investigation.

 _The Association was here. Did he get arrested or did he escape before they find this place?_

Not that it would stop her from entering.

Tatsumaki went inside the hidden basement from where she last entered in. The tunnel where that rude bastard beetle monster backhanded her was still there and it brought some bad memories. She didn't waste any time in scouring much of the premises. A set of explosive charges were triggered that caved in most of the rooms. The complex must have gone a self-destruct sequence to destroy evidence.

The only room that was left intact was the combat grounds. Even with multiple explosions, the massive room survived. The integral structure was indeed very strong to host as a combat ground.

Tatsumaki went inside the blindingly white room. The room was pretty much where she left it. The carcass of Carnage Kabuto was ingloriously laid in different pieces and was rotting away. There should be a very ungodly odor wafting from the horrid corpse but there was none. There should be a good scientific explanation for that but Tatsumaki once again didn't care to know. It wasn't the reason why she was here.

Of course, the esper could not mistake the massive hole in one wall. If the room survived the self-destruct protocol, it was no match for a single punch by Saitama. Honestly, the hole here was MUCH smaller than the one in their fight that carved heaven and earth – and that was only caused of its punch's momentum.

The guy was so mind-mind-bogglingly strong that it defied the laws of nature itself.

 _What would a full on punch do? Rip the very fabric of reality itself?_

This comparison made Tatsumaki wanted more to seek the answers.

The esper went out of the underground complex disappointed. It was about noon and without any clues where to find the man only gave her frustrations. To top it all off, she was getting hungry. Tatsumaki released a sigh.

 _Time for a break._

x-x-x

Tatsumaki flew towards the nearest city, looking for a restaurant to eat in. As she was flying, a memory flashed before her eyes.

" _Are you hungry? I didn't finish my noodles back in the apartment."_

" _What? That would be a waste of time to –" her stomach growled._

" _That takoyaki restaurant seems to be nice. Let's go eat there."_

" _Hey, don't go ordering me around! Hey! Wait for me!"_

Tatsumaki suddenly have cravings for takoyaki.

 _Damn that baldy. Ordering me around._

The esper landed in front of a takoyaki restaurant. She could tell it was recently built with the structure not looking dilapidated like most food stands. Also, it won't have many loyal customers with how relatively new it was in the business.

Tatsumaki entered the premises and sat on one chair.

"Oh, we have a new customer for the day." A gruffly voice said. "What would be your order, miss?"

"I would like to have –" Tatsumaki stopped when she stared at the cook. The cook, a huge gorilla wearing a red apron with a picture of a comical pink octopus at its center, was equally staring at her.

The staredown lasted about 2 seconds when Tatsumaki bolted away from her seat and emanated a green aura.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, you ape!?" Tatsumaki threatened loudly.

"P-Please, miss," replied the terrified gorilla. "I am no longer doing things like before."

"As if I'll believe that!"

"Believe me! We are now a simple takoyaki restaurant!"

Tatsumaki's glow faded. _This gorilla knows what I want._ "'We', huh? Who are with you on this? Where's that scientist?"

A man emerged from the back. "Armored Gorilla, what is the noise all about?"

"Speaking of him, he's here." Armored Gorilla said. The man looked at the gorilla quizzically and then turned his gaze towards the green haired girl.

Upon looking at her, he said in a calm tone, "You're the girl from before: Tatsumaki, now class S rank 16 of the Hero Association. Nice to meet you again."

The calmness of the man strikes Tatsumaki as odd. His tone before was boisterous, so full of himself. Now he was composed and calculated. He wasn't even bothered that they met again in a very unlikely place. Tatsumaki was sure that he did change after that incident. The manner of how they meet again was still strange. Coincidence or not, at least she had found him. He also knew that she was now in the Hero Association. Snek was right that their names would become well known in their website.

"You're the mad scientist from before. Dr. Genus, I recall?" Tatsumaki asked.

"I am flattered that you still remember me."

"That's not flattery." Tatsumaki retorted. "I just wanted something from you. You are a scientist, right?"

"I WAS a scientist." Dr. Genus corrected. "Nowadays, I'm just running a takoyaki restaurant." Armored Gorilla continually nodded to affirm the former scientist's claims. "But since you've spared my life back then, I'll comply with what you want."

Tatsumaki crossed her arms and sat back in her seat. "Fine, then. I need to talk to you. This might be long as your gorilla here has a habit explaining things long and I need to clear something up."

"Very well," Genus complied and looked at the gorilla. "Armored Gorilla, prepare our guest some food. She came all this way so she might be hungry. After that, flip the sign that we're closed. I don't want eavesdroppers around."

"Why should I trust in whatever food you serve?" Tatsumaki asked. "I don't know where that came from."

"Trust me, Miss Tatsumaki." Genus replied. "We prepare normal takoyakis just like everyone else."

"And… why a takoyaki restaurant? Is this some kind of front?"

"No. It is what it is. I'll tell it to you later so don't you worry."

"Fine."

After a few minutes, a takoyaki meal was served in front of Tatsumaki. The esper eyed it like it would morph into some horrible monster and start attacking.

"It's clean. I promise you." Genus assured. He took one takoyaki using chopsticks and ate it. "It is octopus meat made via regeneration. In a cellular level it is no different than a normal one. Taste, too."

"They better have no gorilla hairs in them." Tatsumaki muttered

Genus dryly laughed. "No, of course not. Don't you think I haven't made any precautions having a gorilla as a cook to avoid that?"

Tatsumaki scrutinized every inch of the food and it only made her hungrier staring at it with an empty stomach. "Fine." She took one and started eating.

 _He's right. There's nothing wrong in this food._

 _x-x-x_

The esper finished her meal and felt quite satisfied. The meal wasn't mind-blowing but it was better than nothing, she supposed.

"What do you want to talk about?" Genus said, after sipping a cup of tea.

Tatsumaki cleared her throat after drinking tea that Genus had served (that he himself drank from the same pot to assure the esper) and replied. "I know you know a lot of things. Tell me, what did you get from studying that man's strength? How did he become so strong?"

"Ahhh," Genus beamed. "You're talking about Saitama, the bald man who defeated Carnage Kabuto with a single punch. I've been pondering about that lately so it's refreshing to share what I know. It seemed that you have fought him and had seen his power."

Tatsumaki tilted her head. "How did you know I fought him?"

"It's in your eyes." Genus answered. "Once you see what absolute power really is, it'll change you. If I can infer, you now starting to doubt yourself and –"

"Enough about me!" Tatsumaki snapped. "Answer my previous question."

Genus shrugged. "Well, he did say that he got it from doing his intense training regimen for 3 years."

"That's a load of bull and you know it." Tatsumaki countered.

"Is it?" Genus replied cryptically. "He said he did 100 pushups, sit-ups, and squats, and ran 10 kilometers everyday spanning 3 years. Isn't that bordering insanity? The human body cannot withstand such exercise every day without rest. For the first few months it would only burden the body so much that it would be very counterproductive. You are only trying to kill yourself."

"Then how did he do it if you said that it was impossible?" Tatsumaki asked. "Was he just lying?"

"I don't think he has any reason to lie for such a bold claim," answered the former scientist. "As you said back then, it wasn't even a decent training to begin with, and it's true. It was just strength training and doing those things won't grant you godly powers. That is why I try cellular modification. Humans evolve over time and it starts in the cellular level. In my experimentation's, I encountered some "limit" placed on every living being. No matter what you do there's only a certain degree of proficiency one can attain with their bodies. Not everyone is the same at birth so we have different limits imposed on us. I suppose you could find all kinds of symbolism in this but it is what it is."

"So… he surpassed his limit." Tatsumaki concluded. "Is that what you're getting at?"

"I don't think he simply surpassed it." Genus answered. "We surpass our limits all the time given enough effort, and it is called growth and improvement. But the limit is STILL there. It is only adjusted to a new boundary in which we can surpass again. The thing is that the limit becomes harder and harder to overcome until it comes to the point that it is impossible to proceed any longer. You can only maintain where you are now. No matter how hard you try, the limit bars you to make any more changes." Genus' eyes then sharpened. "And that is when things go awry."

Tatsumaki winced. She and her sister had been experimented on to know the different degree of their powers. Fubuki was the "control" base while Tatsumaki would be subjected to enhance her powers. It was a grueling experience to be forcefully and artificially enhanced using different methods and drugs. It was hellish torture and at one point, she thought she might go insane in the ordeal.

"Miss Tatsumaki, do you know the term "Faustian deal?"" the former scientist asked.

"It is a deal where you sign up to get something you want in exchange of something far more valuable." Tatsumaki answered.

"Huh. So you didn't get a perfect score in the written exams for nothing," said Genus quite impressed. "Yes, that is correct. In order to gain more power than what your limit allows, you need to sacrifice something in return. With power comes self-control. That, I think, is why a limiter exists; to maintain equilibrium. There must be a balance in those two or else you will lose your mind. When you try to get more power your limit won't allow you, but there will be a point where the balance is broken. In this deal, you exchange your very humanity for power. You actually sacrifice your very sanity to make room for improvement.

"Take Carnage Kabuto for example. Despite his strength I consider him as a failure as he lacks humanity. I have others who were like him but he was one of the two I didn't create artificially to begin with. The other, Mosquito Girl, depended on outside sources to evolve which wasn't very appealing to me. In short, he was once a normal human like you." Genus chuckled at the memory and continued. "I needed something that occurs naturally to trigger the human evolution so, in the course of his experiments, he started… mutating. It turns out that he once was very fascinated about beetles and has a vast collection of it. He said that it was the epitome of strength, a combination of raw power and armor. It can fly, has high endurance and raw strength. In his obsession, he wanted to be one."

"So… he became one?" Tatsumaki asked incredulously. She bet that Saitama would have found all this stuff too boring and will fall asleep instead.

"Technically speaking, yes." Genus answered. "You know the reports popping everywhere: humans turning into monsters. Their strong desire to change turned them literally to the very things they wanted to be. Not everyone can do this, however, so I found Kabuto's case compelling. I only helped his mutation as I couldn't pass his natural limiter. I tried to make a turn-around process to try and take control of him. Turns out it was a mistake."

"Then how did this baldy gained his strength without losing his mind?"

"I am getting to that. Carnage Kabuto was a failure but he still gained power beyond measure. On the other side, we have heroes in the Hero Association like you that are very strong and are still very much human. I did study some S Class heroes before and even thought of kidnapping some of them but I didn't want to blow my cover yet then. I concluded that their willpower is strong enough to contain their innate talents. Also, they are born or have potential already within them. But all of them STILL have limiters in them. Imagine that you not only surpass your limiter but actually broke it in the process?"

"So he broke it? That's how he got strong?"

"I'm not even sure if it is possible," answered Genus. "Whether if he broke it or removed it altogether. But if he DID removed his limiter, his strength training makes some sense at least. Without his limiter barring him, his innate strength just keeps growing and growing in an unchecked rate. So far he doesn't exhibit any unique abilities; only that his capability as a human being had been improved exponentially."

 _So that's why he said he can't fly,_ Tatsumaki remembered.

"Even so, in the span of his training," continued Genus, "there was a noticeable change in him. He got ridiculously strong, and he got bald."

"THAT's what he got in exchange for all of this? He just got bald?!" Tatsumaki complained. This scientist might be having a few loose screws.

"And he stopped feeling emotions." Genus continued eyes drooped slightly. He doesn't like putting emotions as those had no place alongside reason.

Tatsumaki raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Hmm. I might have sounded rather foolish there," Genus said, adjusting his glasses. "Perhaps it's an effect not the cause. But that is what I've observed when he defeated my strongest warrior with a single punch. Even after his victory, he thought not the accomplishment of defeating a strong monster but of a sale. His victory means nothing to him. That just tells me his very strength gave him a strong alienation around him. Imagine you have all this strength but could never use it against someone your level? You worked hard for it but for what? To face a realization that no one could ever match you?"

Tatsumaki remained silent. She didn't notice that on him before.

"Strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. It's just human nature that we try to find conflict. But if that challenge wasn't met, it might just breed catastrophe if that power falls into the wrong hands."

"Didn't you want that power for yourself?" Tatsumaki asked.

"I did." Genus replied. "But looking back, I find my research to be in vain. All my life I wanted to transcend humanity, to attain the peak of evolution that started millions of years ago. Now, here is this man who popped out of nowhere, who bears no outstanding qualities whatsoever, no unique genetic lineage or anything worthwhile in his person, attain God-like powers in span of three years thus mocking everything that I stood for all these years. With raw effort alone, he pried open the door of his limits and broke his limiter. It makes no sense whatsoever and remembering it makes me want to laugh about my past ambitions."

"That alone makes you want to give up and then decided to open a takoyaki restaurant?"

"I want something that can be determined, to know accurately what results I can achieve. However, in his case, I found out it was absolute nonsense. He presents the proverbial wrench in my plans. If this person Saitama attained it as a normal person, isn't it quite logical that we can do it too? Of course, that is naïve and foolish. Doing the same things he did won't replicate the result. Evolution takes time but he got to his unheard level in 3 years. He has absolute power but it didn't corrupt him. His situation is just so contradictory that it invalidated everything I know. He is chaos theory in the flesh. All this research means nothing if someone as random as him acts as a living evidence against you."

"So…" Tatsumaki said her hand on her chin. "After all this long winded explanations you still don't know what exactly makes him strong."

Genus amused a laugh. "Pondering about it more will only yield more questions, Miss Tatsumaki." he calmly answered. "It is better to take it as it is." For the life of him, he actually didn't expect he would say such dismissive words if he was still a scientist.

"Then why a takoyaki restaurant?"

"Why not?" Genus simply answered. "I have the means to supply this restaurant indefinitely and I find it rather peaceful. I could have chosen other occupations but I don't really have any concrete reason why I specifically chose this. Charge it to chaos theory, I suppose."

Tatsumaki was feeling so pissed off but could not pinpoint why. At least she got a semblance of an answer to her questions. Armored Gorilla served her another takoyaki meal and so she concentrated on it more than anything else. It looked very appetizing so no harm eating again.

After a while, Genus leaned forward and said. "Tell me, Miss Tatsumaki. Armored Gorilla here told me that you once asked him if we're experimenting on psychics. May I ask why?"

"It's none of your business." Tatsumaki deadpanned and continued eating. Genus leaned back on his seat. He already knew the answer but he guessed he needed to ask her first to be polite.

"…It's about your sister Fubuki, isn't it?" he asked regardless.

Tatsumaki's hand hovered over the plate of takoyaki. In particular, Armored Gorilla knew this eerie vibe coming out from the esper very well that he wanted to bolt out from here as soon as possible. Maybe Genus would command him to do something not involving anything near this dangerous girl.

"How did you know about that?" Tatsumaki asked. Her emerald eyes were brightly green than normal and it posed as threatening.

Genus, though, took it astride. "Your records in the Association aren't exactly private. Besides, you two have similar eyes and power and I simply assumed it. I have no interest in telekinesis and the like as they are unique set of abilities that aren't genetically found in humans. You are born with it, if I'm not mistaken. Still, it doesn't stop some from experimenting with it."

Tatsumaki's eyes narrowed. _Maybe this guy knows someone who does._ "Do you know anyone who experiments on it?"

"Unfortunately for you, I don't know anyone who dabbles with psychics. It's pseudoscience at its best and I don't have any colleagues in my field. I only work with my own creations and myself, and I put the term quite literally."

Tatsumaki took the last takoyaki and ate it. "It seems I'm done here. What about these – "

"Don't worry about them." Genus replied, looking at the empty plates. "It's on the house. Pardon the pun."

Tatsumaki stood up and before she turned around to leave, Genus spoke, "Say 'hello' to Saitama for me if you ever do meet him again. He's also welcome here whenever he likes."

"That's not a problem." Tatsumaki quickly answered. "I now train under him and we live in the same apartment." The words came out naturally from her that she didn't bother to think about it first.

Genus drew aback, clearly surprised. "Oh, uh, well, that's nice to hear. Congratulations."

When she recognized her mistake, Tatsumaki's face turned red and she fumed. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN "CONGRATULATIONS"?! He's just like helping me and we're NOT living in the same unit! Just the same apartment building!" Amid this outburst, Armored Gorilla had slowly slipped away towards the kitchen, not wanting any of his limbs to be cut off again.

"I didn't mean to insinuate anything." Genus calmly answered despite the esper was now ominously glowing green. He resisted smirking, fully aware her reaction gave far more information that intended. At least this bald man has someone to combat his idleness. If he ever went insane then it's a big trouble indeed. Not that he can do anything about it.

"I only asked because I might stumble upon an organization like yours who might have powerful monsters too!" Tatsumaki reasoned. "I'll just train to be stronger with him helping me."

 _Based on her first statement she's looking for her sister,_ Genus thought. "Well, if you two ever visit then you're welcome. And it's a pleasure to see you again." At the back of his mind he knew an S class like her would come and "visit" someday. Before that immortal man comes he'll just make do like he doesn't exist.

Tatsumaki had enough. She might blast this newly constructed place if she stayed any longer. "Uh, thanks, for all of this." Showing appreciation wasn't in her vocabulary yet and it felt rather awkward. She turned around and flew away, somehow content that she had answers to her burning curiosity.

Right in her mind, though, was a new question: what kind of training she would do? It's only two days from now before her formal training begins. She herself has no clue whatsoever what kind of training this bald man had in store for her. The sight of her in a montage of doing sit-ups, push-ups, and squats, and running for three years was inconceivable. She was an esper, damn it, and he better have something that would indeed be worthwhile.

Tatsumaki sped towards the horizon, not sure if she was feeling excited or humiliated at all of this.

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **BOOM! I'm back! I'm very sorry for the massive delay. Things have been very rough in my side. I can make a long list of all the things that went wrong but I don't want to rant more than I did in real life. It just sucks royally. Hopefully I'll be more consistent with the updates. I haven't died or abandoned this or anything.**

 **This chapter has scenes that are in the web comics only so others might be surprised by the story's direction. I've been meaning to do this even before I read the web comics but I guess I might incorporate some things there too. Sorry again for the long wait.**

 **Well, reviews are appreciated and see you soon in the next chapter!**


	11. Hero Training

**Chapter 11: Hero Training**

* * *

 _"Have you heard? That weird girl is the top student in the exams and grades this year again."_

 _"Oh, you mean that loner? She doesn't talk to anyone and she always looked... pissed. I wouldn't want anything to do with her."_

 _"It is better that way I guess. Rumor is that her younger sister will attend next school year."_

 _"Great. We have another freak show coming in."_

 _"Tsk. I bet she'll flunk out with the expectations of having a sister as a top ranked student. I heard it was one of the reasons why she was admitted to our school."_

 _"Or because they are just filthy rich."_

 _"Entitled spoiled brats…"_

 _The conversation faded as the two students walked away and continued to talk about mundane things. In the corner of the school hall intersection, away from the eyes of the two, was a girl holding few books to her chest, fists curled tightly._

x-x-x

Tatsumaki woke up groggily from her bed. The first thing she felt was that she was angry for some reason. She chalked it up to morning laziness as most people tend to feel rather pathetic after waking up to some obscured rest. Blinking multiples times to check that she was indeed awake, she proceeded to do her morning routine and rituals to start the day.

It's almost a week now after she registered in the Hero Association to be a hero. So far she hasn't done any heroic stuff to go with it. All she did was to hole up mending her bruised pride and then visiting a mad scientist to clear something up which didn't even made some sense to begin with. Moreover, she was now a student of some paradoxical godlike C Class, Saitama.

All of this she couldn't imagine doing and what possessed her to do something so close to what Fubuki did when she started too?

Her sister Fubuki hassled her way the second she became a hero. The path in which she became the top of B class heroes and having a sizable following wasn't done overnight. It made her vainer in the process, however, but she would never be of anything if she didn't put all those effort by hook or by crook. She kept her beloved rank as if it was her life's accomplishment.

And here Tatsumaki was, an S class right off the bat, a position Fubuki would have only dreamed of, not knowing what she would do to it. She got this on a whim by the way and the thought of it seemed a cruel evidence of fate's comedic unfairness in the universe.

 _I wonder how your sister would react seeing you now._

Tatsumaki thought about this for a while as she was making pancakes that she flipped using her powers. Sweet Mask was right. He knew too well about her sister's blaring weaknesses. The pop idol once coldly criticized Fubuki for "using his style" after effortlessly dispatching her along with her little minions. Justice should be beautiful as well as strong to back it up, not just limited to one of the two, he said. He mocked her that she should never hop to class A as she would just be an ugly disgrace in their ranks. She should just stay as the mascot pretending to be a leader for weakling B class heroes.

As a reward for his taunts, his arm got severed by a very enraged Tatsumaki. If it not for Fubuki reminding her sister that if the fight continued any longer and word got out, they would get a lot of bad publicity for attacking Sweet Mask, a beloved social personality. The backlash would be very severe and it will topple the Blizzard Group's fame to oblivion. Sweet Mask let the incident slide as he got some sort of "practice" and was somewhat amused about Tatsumaki's capabilities. He left, recovering from his gruesome injury pretty much instantly, and that was that.

The incident was over but the damage to the two sisters' relationship was apparent. Fubuki was once again saved by her sister – worse, it was in front of her group. The Blizzard Group got a tongue lashing from the green haired esper, scolding them that they should have never be called heroes in the first place if they were this pathetic. They did admit it was their own volition, not because Fubuki ordered them to. Still, Fubuki wasn't spared by Tatsumaki. As the leader of their so called group, she was their responsibility like Tatsumaki was responsible to her as her younger sister.

Their relationship as sisters started normal until certain incidents and circumstances forced them to cope and change. Before Tatsumaki could notice it, they were growing apart. She was not doing this deliberately out of spite or anything. It was just who she was and she tried her darned best to teach her sister.

Why couldn't just Fubuki see her way? She was only doing it for her benefit, to grow up in a harsh world where they were treated as nothing more than lab rats. Who could ever understand her other than her older sister who also went through the same hell she passed through?

Thinking all these things and comparing those to her current situation, she found it quite ironic. These were the same logic that terrorized her the past few days after she asked Saitama to help her train. Fubuki would undoubtedly be very surprised, not only of her sister's S class status, but also to her being a student to some C class hero. It was appalling and if ever Fubuki heard about it, she would not believe it until she saw it for herself.

Fubuki believing it or not doesn't matter anymore. She was firm in her craziest decision yet and she will stick to it. If it doesn't work out, then there's no harm forgetting it. Before it started though, she needed to be sure if that baldy would be true to his words.

After finishing her stack of pancakes, Tatsumaki went next door. She raised a very hesitant hand towards the door bell and pressed it. It felt very embarrassing but she needed to do this.

There was a shuffling sound from across the door that made Tatsumaki jumpy. Her mind was telling her there's still time to bail out but Tatsumaki resisted the temptations. She needed to do this, she reminded herself.

The door opened and it revealed Saitama in his casual blue striped pajamas, looking unperturbed as ever. It seemed he just got out from bed.

 _Did this baldy really lose his emotions?_ Tatsumaki thought.

"Oh, good morning." Saitama greeted flatly. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Ah, well, I'm busy," Tatsumaki lied, which made it apparent as she was looking away. "Anyway, I'm just here to make sure about tomorrow. You are aware about it, right?"

"Oh yeah. Of course. That training or whatnot. I haven't been doing anything at all these days so I'll be free tomorrow."

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

Before Saitama closed the door, something hit Tatsumaki's mind.

"Hey," she said getting Saitama's attention. "The past few days, are you sure you are not doing anything, like, _anything_ at all?"

"Yeah. That's what I said." Saitama replied.

"But you are doing some heroic activities from time to time?"

"Uhh, not yet actually. I've been watching the TV and there wasn't anything going on."

Tatsumaki frowned and crossed her arms. "Wait. I thought you wanted to be hero? You're giving up this early?"

"No! Of course not!" Saitama replied loudly, waking his spirits up. "What do you mean giving up? I did my best during the exams so I won't give up that easily!"

"Then why aren't you doing anything?" Tatsumaki asked, irate. "You do know that the Hero handbook says that if you're a C class hero, you need to perform at least one heroic activity per week or else you'll be removed from the Hero Registry."

Saitama gasped and flinched. "What?! Are you sure?!" There was a knot gradually forming in his stomach.

"Yes, I'm sure." The esper answered. "C Class heroes are normally not that strong and they are numerous so they mostly hunt down petty crimes like small robberies, assault or deviant activities. The Association made it like this so they can weed out who are not serious about their jobs and make some C Class heroes to think twice what they really are in for. B Class and up don't need this quota as they have proved themselves to be reliable. I'm an S Class so I don't need it, but you on the other hand –"

"THEN THIS IS NO TIME TO BE DOING NOTHING!" the knot had finally burst. Saitama hurriedly went inside his apartment, leaving the esper at the door.

Before the esper knew what had happened, Saitama went back trying to wear his costume in haste, the upper part of his body bare.

Tatsumaki didn't expect to see such a sight and a blush formed on her cheeks. Still, she noticed Saitama's body to be very built for his average looks. His exposed abs showed a full row of packs that would put a body builder to shame. His biceps and chest muscles were like sculpted in form. His physique wasn't freakishly disproportioned unlike most body builders and he looked... rather handsome.

 _This man is definitely full of surprises._

The esper quickly shook her head, eyes closed shut.

 _No no no no no! What the hell are you thinking, Tatsumaki?! Get a grip!_

"I need to do something about this!" Saitama exclaimed, wearing his red gloves one by one. "I won't lose my hero status! Not now, not ever!" He closed the door shut and began briskly walking away.

Tatsumaki woke up from her inner turmoil. "Hey! Where're you going?"

Saitama stopped and whipped his head around, his legs in running mode. "Where else? The city, of course!"

"You know, I'm an S class hero." Tatsumaki twiddled her fingers and continued. "Maybe I can put a word for you not to cancel your hero registry."

"No! I can't!"

"What?! I'm doing you a favor here so don't be –"

"If someone heard about it people may start thinking I'm cheating so I need to do this myself!"

 _People ARE thinking you are cheating._ Tatsumaki thought. "If you want it that way then fine. Just don't forget about tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure, fine! See you tomorrow!" Saitama ran at full speed unleashing a dust trail behind him. Tatsumaki looked on at the dust clouds getting smaller from the view of the apartment building.

"Stupid baldy." She muttered and went back to her apartment.

x-x-x

The following day, Tatsumaki was lounging in her apartment, watching TV to check if there was something remotely interesting.

Saitama went back yesterday and despite his city round efforts, there was no crime happening to pad his record. He always stumbled upon numerous monsters before but it seemed the bad guys decided to do the most dastardly deed of not doing anything to sabotage his career. The incident with the House of Evolution and those Paradisers should have sufficed but he did it before he became a hero. He's now running around for the second time in search of a crime that will save his career.

Funny. Heroes yearn for crime to save their sorry jobs instead of maintaining peace.

Tatsumaki flipped the channels in an increasing pace. She was feeling something familiar that made her annoyed. It was like what she felt for her sister's welfare for most of the time. Was it worry? Or concern? Was she now thinking what would happen to that bald man if he loses his hero badge?

 _Of course not. That's ridiculous. I don't care about that baldy._

Few minutes passed and Tatsumaki could not take it anymore.

 _Screw it. I'm checking on him. I'm not doing this because of anything. I'll just remind him about this afternoon training._

At this, Tatsumaki flew towards the city.

Arriving at City Z, she hovered and looked around. The city looked fine from her vantage point. There's no people running around in circles, no huge monsters looming from the horizon, no screams of help, no explo –

Multiple blasts occurred in one street. The deafening sound alerted Tatsumaki and she turned her eyes towards it. Debris came spewing out from the buildings and chaos ensued. People started running away from the continuing explosions.

Tatsumaki quickly flew towards the source. Indeed, the street became a battleground of rubble. Smoking cars, toppled posts and craters littered the scene. She noticed there was someone in the air throwing what looked like shuriken that explodes upon contact. The man was laughing hysterically as if the pandemonium satisfied him.

 _So this is the one who caused all this._ Tatsumaki angrily thought.

Raising one arm towards the man, Tatsumaki brought it down and the man suddenly plunged towards the ground mercilessly. His body left an imprint on the ground and he twitched at his sudden defeat.

 _That solves the problem. Thank me I didn't rip you to shreds._

Tatsumaki landed beside the twitching man and looked at him. The man was wearing a long sleeved black T-shirt with a purple shuriken near the neck part at the back, gray pants and blue sneakers. Three small brown chokers were on his neck and metal square belt connected to one another on his waist that may have stored his throwing projectiles. What was apparent was his topknot to his otherwise long black hair. There was a broken sword near him and some ninja tools and Tatsumaki assumed it was his.

Overall, the man looked like a typical emo which became rather fashionable in this day and age. Tatsumaki could never understand the fads these days.

"Teenagers and their boy bands." Tatsumaki muttered and shrugged. "I haven't done anything yet so this is good. I'm taking you to the Hero Asso–"

"What the hell are you doing?!" a man shouted from behind her.

"What's your problem? I just saved –" Tatsumaki turned around and saw… Saitama running towards her.

"That's my bad guy!" the caped hero exclaimed. "I was supposed to beat him when he suddenly crashed towards the ground! What am I supposed to do now?"

Tatsumaki reeled in surprise. She was here to check on him, not sabotage his hero career. If she only decided to stay for a while then this wouldn't have happened. "It's not my fault if I defeated him! How should I know if he was yours? It just so happens that I saw him and I did my job!"

That made perfect sense and Saitama couldn't argue. He simply grunted and replied, "Fine! I won't be able to train you this afternoon if I'll run around again!"

"Don't you dare cancel it!"

Saitama harrumphed. "I don't think we have any choice."

Tatsumaki gritted her teeth in frustration. _Damn it. I need some crime for him but what? I can't instigate it or else I'm in trouble. Quick Tatsumaki! Think of something else!_

The esper looked around and her eyes widened.

"Look," she said pointing at the wrecked stores. Saitama followed it and she continued. "Some people are trying to take advantage of the situation by looting the stores. The owners won't be too happy about it and looting is a crime. If you can prevent them from stealing before the Association arrives then maybe it counts as a heroic work. You are helping them maintain order, after all."

"You serious?"

"Ah, sure. I gue–"

"Then there's no time to lose!" Saitama ran towards the looting people and began scaring them away. It work no doubt when he's still known as a "former terrorist" and people were still scared about them.

The Hero Association finally arrived and apprehended the man named Sonic who was suspected in some heinous crimes already. The credit was given to Tatsumaki while Saitama was credited in maintaining peace before they arrived. At least his status as a "former terrorist" was cleared up and he was able to explain to some very concerned citizens why he was running around the city. Most importantly, his hero status wasn't void and the Hero Association counted his deed to his quota on the spot.

Tatsumaki was relieved about the outcome but there's still one thing left to do.

"Hey, about that training..." Tatsumaki reminded Saitama who was cleaning up his costume from dirt.

"Yeah. Want to get a bite first?

Tatsumaki sighed. "Whatever. After this then the training."

Saitama walked ahead while Tatsumaki floated behind. What she didn't know was Saitama sweating profusely, lips tight and he felt like he's walking towards the gallows. It finally dawned on him what he was in for.

 _Crap! I have a full week and I'm sure I've thought something by now! And why did I even agree to teach this girl! I shouldn't have won that udon challenge if karma would just even it out! Think Saitama! You have at least a few minutes before this training starts!_

"Hey, something's wrong?" Tatsumaki asked. "You look like you're sweating."

Saitama nervously laughed. "Ah, you mean this? Just got tired running around the city. Hehehe."

"Uh, sure. Whatever."

x-x-x

The two heroes ate udon in an empty restaurant due to the incident caused by a wayward ninja. Despite eating udon, Saitama felt he was eating his last meal. He hoped that by eating his favorite meal an inspiration would suddenly pop out from his mind. But alas, there is none.

Instead of blaming his luck and procrastinating past self, Saitama thought about the situation at hand. Tatsumaki, the esper midget, seemed to be a hard case to get along with. Coupled it with her snobbish attitude and surprising strength, it's a good start to be a self-entitled, egotistic person. She was brash, impatient and careless, diving in fights before gauging the opponents' strength. She was so sure of herself that it might kill her someday. It's not a good sight of someone getting wrecked constantly. It didn't also help that she looked like a kid thus making her even more childish.

Despite of her flaws, she has potential to be a good hero. Saitama did think that this girl didn't become a hero just to fight him. There should be at least an underlying motive why she did it. He didn't know much about her and he simply met her by accident but there's more to it for being a hero. At first, she took the rankings seriously. Now, she seemed to accept it and had asked him to teach her. Even with all her strength, she looked like a rookie in terms of maturity. She can easily be a villain just like what happened to Jack-o-Lantern, using their abilities for their own benefit and mere enjoyment.

Guidance was what she needed. This training may perhaps be a crucial junction in her life to decide what she will do with her powers. He might have agreed because he saw a little of himself at the midget. At age 22 he was a nobody, but a single decision changed the course of his life. Her asking for help might also be the same.

These assumptions made Saitama inwardly groan. He didn't think that he has to help another hero's business. To think about it Snake and that… Sweat Mask looked pretty dubious despite them being heroes. Not everyone seemed to be following the old-fashioned hero ideals.

Giving advice is not his strong points and here he was, trying to teach some girl, an esper who is radically different from him, to be strong. Maybe there's more to it than teaching her how to be strong. Instead of thinking of how to be strong, maybe he can help her overcome her weaknesses?

Saitama decided he would go with the flow for now. He did saved his hero registry at the last second and this one is no different.

x-x-x

The two heroes were once again in the Barren Canyon, a completely desolate place and free of distractions. The aftermath of their previous fight was still there. Craters, destroyed cliffs and the gigantic carving caused by Saitama's punch had drastically changed the landscape.

"Alright, let's begin." Saitama said, facing the esper.

"Are we gonna fight again like last time?" Tatsumaki asked.

"Well, no." Saitama replied. "Uhh, what was it again?" He put a hand on his chin and started to think while tapping his foot. This lasted for several seconds when Tatsumaki spoke.

"You didn't think this through, did you?"

"Of course I planned for this!" Saitama exclaimed. "Just gathering my thoughts."

Tatsumaki remained silent. He may start spouting nonsense again like last time.

"Okay," said Saitama, his expression suddenly turning serious. "Last time we fought I told you that you should keep your emotions in check. This time, we'll try to improve your psychic powers. This training can also show how mentally tough you are."

Tatsumaki simply gazed at the bald hero. "Uhh, okay."

"You are an esper, right?" Saitama suddenly asked.

Tatsumaki slightly nodded a deadpan expression on her face. _Haven't you known this by now?_

"I've been thinking about this. Espers lift things with psychic powers so how come you can do those other stuff?"

"Other stuff?" Tatsumaki repeated.

"You know, those green orbs you throw, the thing when you touch them and then they'll explode and the ones in your hands and the weird clones."

"Those are variants of psychic powers." Tatsumaki explained. "I concentrate them into different forms and uses. The orbs are simply contained energy and they'll explode when released. I can also make them into sharp or searing blades like I use with my hands. However, creating and maintaining a specific shape takes time to create so the clones are the outline coming out from me. They are already pre-defined so I don't need to waste unnecessary energy for aesthetics."

"So they are all still psychic powers?"

"Basically, yes. Why are you asking all this?"

"Because we're going back to basics."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not going to use any of those in this training."

"Why not?"

"Your psychic powers are the same across the board so if you train your basic psychic ability, all of those would improve accordingly. Instead of specializing one skill, think of this as a full body workout."

Tatsumaki glanced at the bald hero curiously. "I suppose it sounds practical. How did you know that?"

"Uhh, videogames or manga?"

 _I should have expected that._ "Okay wiseguy, what kind of training do you have in mind?"

"You once said that you can't use your powers on me. Well, do it again."

Tatsumaki's eyebrow dug deep and she cocked her head to one side. "Are you deaf? I said I can't do it even how hard I try."

"That's the beauty of it." Saitama simply replied. "If you're having a hard time on something then it means you can improve upon it. You are using your psychic powers and it pushes you to your limit. If you did it hard enough, it will surely improve."

"So… I'll just try to pin you down using telekinesis?"

"Yes. It's as simple as it sounds. I'll walk towards you and tap you on the shoulder. Try to stop me without using any of those other skills you have."

Tatsumaki was still unsure. It looked painfully simple and it reminded her of when she first discovered her powers.

"Just give it a try." Saitama urged.

Tatsumaki sighed. "Fine."

Saitama walked a couple of paces away from Tatsumaki whose arms were leveled towards him.

"Ready?" he asked.

Tatsumaki nodded.

"Try to restrain my movements using your powers."

Saitama started walking towards Tatsumaki in a slow pace as a green aura quickly emitted out of the esper. It was evident she was trying hard as the green aura becomes thicker and thicker and the ground below Saitama began to vibrate. Pebbles and dusts flung to all directions from Saitama's trail. Despite all this, the bald hero continued his walk as if nothing was impeding his progress.

Tatsumaki was gritting her teeth in her efforts. She had never exerted such psychic powers against a single object before. Her idea of training was lifting many objects at once and that she mastered easily. No matter the weight she could lift it up. Materializing her powers was quite hard at first but she mastered it too. She thought that she shouldn't limit herself to plain telekinesis only and it opened a wide variety of tactics.

But this man. He was different.

There seemed to be some resistance around him protecting him from such force. He should have been crushed by now or at least be struggling to maintain his bearings. At first, she was hesitant with how simple it looked but this showing of resistance was now a challenge. With the amount of energy she's exerting, she should have levelled multiple skyscrapers now.

This lasted for several seconds when Tatsumaki felt a tapping on her shoulder.

"Ok, that's enough."

Tatsumaki opened her eyes that she inadvertently closed and saw a man towering over her. An image of the demonic man staring at her flashed before her eyes and she panicked. She quickly dashed away and, using her powers, opened a fissure below the man and he fell in it.

"HEY! Why did you do that for?" Saitama complained, his upper body jutting out from the crack. "That's not in the rules!"

Tatsumaki breathed heavily, the green aura around her dissipating. She looked at Saitama and became aware at what she did. "You surprised… me. That's all."

Saitama climbed out from the ground. He noticed that the esper was breathing heavily, a good sign that she was putting the effort. "Well, don't do that again. So, one more time?"

"I was giving it my all and… you didn't even flinch." Tatsumaki said between breaths.

"So what? That's what training's like in the beginning. It's not always easy. Besides, I can feel if you're improving if you're slowing me down. Don't tell me you're giving up this early?"

Pride getting hurt hearing he mimicked what she said to him earlier, Tatsumaki's eyes sharpened and she raised her arms. "Hmph, let's do it again."

Saitama nodded.

Moments later Saitama tapped Tatsumaki's shoulder the second time. She didn't draw away but in this close distance Saitama noticed how she was exerting herself too much.

"You okay?" he asked.

"One… more time." Tatsumaki replied breathless.

"If you wish."

They continued in their training multiple times and it all ended with Saitama tapping the esper's shoulders. Tatsumaki has no plans of letting up. She still has a tad bid of pride to her name from ever give up. When was the last time she had actively trained this hard before? The training was simple as it gets but she had to admit, it was efficient and effective. For her to exert such force there would be a lot of collateral damage along the way so this was manageable. With each attempt though, she felt frustrated but she didn't let it from stopping her. Instead, she used this as motivation despite her getting tired and dizzy.

Saitama on the other hand didn't do much as he simply walked all the time. It bored him no doubt. At least he was able to come up with training with no effort in his part and still be beneficial to the esper. For once, reading manga and playing video games had finally helped him in his decision making. He remembered a game where raising one's specific stats would improve all the character's skills. It's akin to Sword Mastery or whatnot but luckily the esper bought it.

Although, if the esper said her skills weren't inter-related at all, it would spell disaster for his logic.

The sun was slowly setting, painting the canyon into an orange-red hue, and stars began appearing in the twilight sky.

Saitama walked towards Tatsumaki. There's no noticeable change in his pace but that was to be expected. Training doesn't bear fruit immediately. The caped hero tapped Tatsumaki's shoulder for as many times now.

"One more time?" he asked. Tatsumaki, head hung low and eyes hidden by her hair, didn't respond.

Saitama was about to ask her if she's alright when Tatsumaki suddenly fell forward and leaned on his chest.

"H-hey! You okay?" he asked in panic, holding her on the shoulders.

Tatsumaki simply leaned on him, eyes closed like she was asleep.

 _Oh boy. She fainted due to over-exhaustion. She always pushes herself too hard. At least she's doing her best. That's got to be something._

The two remained like this for a few seconds when Saitama realized they can't stay like this. He needed to carry her back again like last time. He sighed heavily knowing what her reaction would be once she wakes up again.

He walked away with her on his arms much like when they first met. And above the twilight sky, an unusually bright spec of light ominously gleamed down.

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **Long chapters are long. Deal with it. I have free time so why not spend it writing a chapter nonstop? It seemed I'm making my chapters quite long with many expositions and I hope it doesn't feel cramped. Next updates might be random. Even I don't know when. Still, there will be updates. It's better than nothing, right?**

 **Well, reviews are always darned and lovingly appreciated and see you in the next chapter!**


	12. METEOR Crisis

**Chapter 12: METEOR Crisis**

* * *

 _Staccato of gunfire echoed throughout the manor's halls. Windows shattered, walls crumbled, wooden furniture splintered, curtains ripped off, doors smashed open and blood poured out._

 _They were being attacked but why? The next thing she knew they were running for their lives. Her dad has a gunshot wound on the shoulder and had lagged behind. But the last time she looked back, he was gone. Going back meant certain death and so they trekked forward with heavy hearts. They continued to run until the sun appeared on the horizon and even then they have to be very cautious from now on._

 _-/-_

 _She could feel her sister's arms clutching around her waist shaking terribly. Her mother hasn't come back yet but she had heard screaming outside their safe house._

 _Gunfire. That horrible gunfire that she had heard that fateful night was unmistakable._

 _This isn't happening! They found us! How did this happen?!_

 _The two cowered in a corner until the door was blasted off in its hinges and armed men poured in._

 _These men… these monsters had killed her family to get to them. All she has now was her sister and there's no one who would save them except for themselves. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as an ethereal green aura surrounded her. It was a strange feeling but the only thing in her mind was pure rage._

 _Before the armed men raised their weapons to tranquilize their targets, they heard a loud scream and blood and guts come flying all across the room._

x-x-x

Tatsumaki jerked wide awake, heart racing and lungs breathing heavily. After the initial shock of waking up, the energy fled her and gradually her breathing evened out. She was vaguely aware this weird waking up was what caused her to feel restless first thing in the morning. The memories about her dreams were quickly leaking out and maybe it was for the best.

Since dreams didn't mean anything, anyway.

Curling to her side to get back to sleep, a thought lanced in her mind and she remembered one word.

Training.

 _What the hell happened there? What am I doing?!_

The esper quickly brushed away the blanket over her and sat up straight. What greeted her again was Saitama in his pajamas, slouching on a cushion. There was a manga in his hand and an empty cup of noodles on the small table.

 _Oh dear heavens. Not again._

"Do you always wake up like that?" Saitama asked, peering over his manga.

"More or less." Tatsumaki answered, squeezing the bridge of her nose to fend off the incoming headache. Saitama's face though crunched up in confusion.

 _More or less? What does that mean?_ "Well, if you say so." he replied, not wanting to know more.

Tatsumaki feebly stood up. "I should be going now," she said hoarsely. "I'm… sorry if I passed out like that." She was trying to hoist herself up with her powers but whenever she tries, a lancing headache would torment her, screaming back their vengeance on what abuse she did in her training. As a result, she felt she's in a hangover from hell. She knew that clichéd aftereffect very well because unbeknownst to everyone except her sister she can't handle her alcohol even if her life depended on it. Actually, her sister Fubuki would do everything to avoid it because if Tatsumaki ever got drunk by some freak accident it may very well be the Blizzard Group's lives are at stake instead.

The exit was the only thing in Tatsumaki's mind and she desperately wanted to reach it by any means necessary. She deliberately walked towards the door, swaying from time to time and only her force of will was keeping her balanced.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Saitama asked again, setting his manga down in show of concern.

"Yes. Don't mind me," responded Tatsumaki, not even turning to look at him nor stopping. "I'll be on my way now."

"Tatsumaki." Saitama called her name imperiously that made Tatsumaki stop. There was this voice again: serious and commanding. The esper turned around and sure enough, he was looking at her quite intensely, like a strict parent about to scold their recalcitrant child.

This serious expression lasted for a second when Saitama reverted back to his usual carefree face and waved a hand. "Good luck to you and take care. See you later." He said with a smile and went back reading his manga as if nothing had happened.

Tatsumaki blinked a couple times. He didn't even offer her anything nor escort her out. Her jaw could have dropped but being with him now for quite some time, she was getting used to it.

Not that she wanted for him to do any of those.

With a grave nod, Tatsumaki finally went out and returned to her apartment refuge, not enough to slam the door shut off its hinges for the umpteenth time. When she was in front of her bed, she fell like a log on it, thankfully.

 _Dammit to hell. This is humiliating. I've slept in his bed twice now._

In. His. Bed.

Twice.

Tatsumaki's head turned bright red, a crimson tomato given her green hair. She forced herself to get back to sleep but many thoughts assailed her mind like mad spirits that made her conscious all throughout.

Did he carry her back to his apartment bridal style? She hadn't lived as long as she had by sleeping at someone else's place. It only told her she was vulnerable, prone and defenseless. That kind of trust shouldn't been there, especially to a man she just met two weeks ago. Even if it took years she still won't accept that.

Where did Saitama sleep if she's sleeping on his bed? Did he actually sleep beside her?

The last question jolted her awake.

 _No, it's not._ Tatsumaki reasoned. _He slept somewhere else. Even he wouldn't do that._

After a few seconds of calm, Tatsumaki stared at the ceiling listlessly. _So this is the feeling of being weak,_ she thought. _It's been so long. Did Fubuki experience this if she's exerting herself too much?_

It was apparent that Tatsumaki was much stronger than Fubuki in terms of their powers. Fubuki would have to exert a lot of effort to do things Tatsumaki do in a daily basis. This strained their relationship as sisters and Tatsumaki knew it. But what can she do about it? Act as a weakling so that her sister feels good about herself? That's not how things work and she didn't became strong instantly. She got strong mostly because of the experiments done to her. Tatsumaki didn't want that to happen to her sister also but in the way things were, it looked like Fubuki envied that.

Maybe it was because of this that Fubuki went missing? Did she really go that far because of jealousy?

Tatsumaki sighed heavily.

It was preposterous to think things like this in her weak state. She was surely drunk and can't think straight.

Still, this caused her to be awake for some time. She was just on her bed, wide awake – until her fatigue slowly ebbed away that she can do something, anything than think. Good timing since her stomach was awake now and demanding sustenance.

Tatsumaki went to her kitchenette. Her telekinetic ability hasn't recovered yet and so she walked. She raised a hand towards a cabinet to get her favorite box of panda cookies when she got a pang of headache.

Of course, she instantly forgot why she walked there in the first place.

Tremendously frustrated that she can't use any of her powers, Tatsumaki climbed over the kitchen counter like a persistent toddler snagging a cookie from a faraway cookie jar. It was quite a task since she was so used to using her powers to compensate for her lack of reach.

After taking a glass of milk too, Tatsumaki went back and settled herself beside the small table. She stared at the TV for few odd seconds - and then stood up to retrieve the remote. All this "manual labor" was irritating her to no end. This was so beneath everything she's used to. She should be more careful or she'll exhaust herself to death in training.

Tatsumaki turned on the TV and was greeted by the morning news. It doesn't tell anything interesting except for a report of an unusual celestial sighting of a meteor. Experts said that the meteor would only pass by Earth by a large margin and won't be any threat. Civilians can get to see this rare phenomenon even at daylight and with no special visual instrument. It will last for a few days and then won't be seen again for a considerable amount of years.

A panda cookie was manually lifted by Tatsumaki as she watched. Being too overly cautious all her life, she knew that meteor could spell a big trouble. If there is something she's certain of is that if there's a chance something bad will happen, it will. The dinosaurs didn't know that and they weren't here anymore.

She just has to wait and see what will happen. Currently, she can't do squat and wishing upon a meteor won't help her recover at all. A simple chore was more than enough to burst her head wide open and she can't afford to sleep again in Saitama's bed and –

Tatsumaki inwardly groaned.

Her imagination has now a will of its own. A few days of rest might be needed again.

 _Damn that bald man to the highest heavens._

x-x-x

After a few days, Tatsumaki felt normal again. Well, normal to what only espers could do. She could lift things again without much strain and not curse her diminutive height every chance she gets.

Like last time, she didn't go outside, fearing she, an S class, might embarrass herself in her weakened state. Saitama seemed to be always there when she screws up bigtime. One person was enough seeing her at her worst, as galling as it was.

Now that she had recovered, Tatsumaki hadn't felt any improvement. Her powers were like this before and there are no noticeable changes. Still, she was aware that training won't have any immediate results, and being complacent was one of rookie mistakes people fall into in giving up. For the record, she didn't like being wasted after training but she had to admit, it made her determined for what felt like ages. A dim fire of long ago lit up within her up to a point she passed out from exhaustion. If she could keep that fire going, things would improve from there.

If only Fubuki had the same drive, maybe things would have gone differently.

Tatsumaki was doing her rounds of changing channels in finding something interesting when her hero-assigned cellphone went off. She stopped what she was doing and used her powers to grab the cellphone. There was a few seconds when she stared at the phone. It was a high end phone with many fancy features bordering from cutting edge technology to downright vanity. It might have been a good phone if it wasn't built from eggshells in how fragile it was. As an S class, however, they were given such luxurious phones to contact them whenever or wherever possible and Tatsumaki is no different.

Levitating the phone right next to her ear, Tatsumaki answered the call, "Yeah? What do you want this time?" She knew who was calling so no need for formalities.

"Miss Tatsumaki," responded a female caller. "The Hero Association is calling out for nearby S class heroes to the Z Branch of the Association. If you have other activities and thought otherwise about the situation we understand, but the offer is still there."

Tatsumaki quizzically looked at her phone. _What did she mean by that?_

"I'll go." she answered. "I don't have anything to do so I might as well check this out."

"Thank you Miss Tatsumaki. We greatly appreciate your concern."

"I'm just curious, not concerned. There's a difference." The esper corrected. At this she abruptly cut the call and placed the phone on a desk.

Before she left the apartment, she glanced at the other door.

 _Why should I even care about him? This is no time for this._

Tatsumaki sped away, feeling a little disgruntled about her own actions regarding that bald man, not noticing the bright spec from before had grown considerably brighter and larger.

x-x-x

Tatsumaki landed in front of the Z Branch of the Association. It was a dark colored building among the gray concrete around it. She quickly noticed it's the building she's looking for since there's a big "Z" plastered on one side.

Upon first stepping on the ground, she quickly sensed no one was around. No security guards, no passersby, no Association employees entering in or out. It was strange and she briefly wondered that she might have been pranked to go here.

Nevertheless, she entered the building and her suspicions were proven true. There is no one here at all. It was as if it was evacuated down to the last janitor. The closing sliding door eerily echoed around.

"Ah, you must be Miss Tatsumaki." An old voice said to her. Tatsumaki quickly turned her head towards the voice and saw an old man with bushy white moustache and eyebrows. He wearing a black turtleneck long-sleeved shirt and gray jogging pants. His back was hunched back due to his age but his steel gray eyes still has some fire in it.

It was none other than Silver Fang, S Class rank 3, one of the most formidable heroes in the Association. Tatsumaki could sense he was stronger than he looked since he was able to hide his presence from her.

"My name is Bang. Nice to meet you." The old man greeted.

"Bang, huh? Not Silver Fang or any contrived hero names?" Tatsumaki asked.

The old man smiled a little. Young ones don't have much respect for old people nowadays, he assumed. "You may refer to me whatever you wish, Miss Tatsumaki." He modestly answered.

"Okay, gramps. The Association called me in. Where's everyone?"

"This is everyone." Bang simply answered.

Tatsumaki pursed her lips in indignation. "You mean to tell me we're the only ones here?"

"Each of the Class S heroes got the call to come here," answered the old man. "But apparently we're the only ones who showed up. It seemed they're too far away or busy. Maybe they just didn't bother. After all, we S Class heroes are called to do some impossible problem from time to time. Today's no exception."

"So why are we called here in the first place?"

"You aren't aware of the situation this city is facing?"

Tatsumaki remained silent. She didn't go out of her apartment and so missed out terribly in current events.

"I apologize for being derisive there." Bang said. "To explain it to you we're facing a Dragon-level threat, a worse-case scenario. 35 minutes from now, a huge meteor will strike City Z. They are asking if nearby heroes can do anything about it."

 _A meteor? That same meteor in the news?_

"Apparently, it suddenly changed course, and is now heading directly at this city. It's calculated to wipe entire City Z upon impact. This just happened recently so the news didn't know about it. I'm afraid, with limited preparations, there's nothing we can do this time. You too should think about evacuating with your loved ones before the meteor crashes."

Tatsumaki quickly remembered Fubuki and, for some strange and inexplicably weird reason, a particular bald man squeezed in there. She quickly banished those thoughts since she was sure Fubuki isn't in this city nor did that baldy have any real significant connection to her.

"Do the citizens know?" Tatsumaki asked. "I haven't heard any evacuation process when I arrived here."

"I was told they would estimate the impact area and issue evacuation orders 30 minutes before it hits." To support his statement, a warning blare resounded around the city, issuing an evacuation.

Bang released a soft laugh. "People are sure to panic."

"How about you? You're not panicking?" Tatsumaki asked again, angered concern coloring her tone.

"I don't plan to get away from here." Bang turned around and slowly walked away.

 _Tsk. I don't have time for back stories._

"My dojo has been in my family for generations, teaching students even before I was born. It's precious to me and I've been there all my life. I might be sentimental but I can't leave it behind. You might as well find it interesting and be a student." Bang quickly turned around and did a stance, blue flashes of delicate light trailing from his fingers. "Fist of Flowing Water Crushing Rock. Heard of it?"

What met him was empty space.

"She left."

x-x-x

Tatsumaki was quickly heading towards the approximate landing zone of the meteor.

 _Damn it to hell. The Hero Association really is inept in their jobs. I knew that meteor was bad news from the beginning. Who's the crackpot now?_

Emergency announcement blared endlessly as streams of cars and people clogged the streets. Whatever they do, it was already late and the impact would reach them no matter where they were. Even the neighboring cities could sustain damage from the shockwave. Indeed, no one's going out here alive.

Tatsumaki was growing irate by each passing second. The sheer ridiculousness of the situation galled her and everyone seemed set to die here without doing anything. As good as Silver Fang is, his rank is irrelevant if he can't do anything. So does to anyone who calls themselves a hero. She was getting sick of it.

If no hero would do it, she'll do it – as her mantra in life has always been.

As she continued to go to the opposite direction the crowd was going, Tatsumaki noticed someone was also going in her direction. It left a smoke trail from its blue thrusters and it glinted of bright metal. It landed atop of a hospital and Tatsumaki landed beside it.

"You are Bofoi, correct?" Tatsumaki asked.

The steel hulking humanoid with three beaming red lights that act as its eyes turned to life. "And you must be the new recruit, Tatsumaki." The robot responded in a deep voice. "I've seen your performance in the exams with my robots and you did very well. Come to stop the meteor?"

"Hmm." Tatsumaki nodded.

 _Class S rank 2, Metal Knight. A hero who has a whole city and army under his control. He got to his rank because he can finish multiple missions of different threat levels simultaneously with his different array of robots. With this, he was given a very special position in the Association as a backer and security, responsible for their HQ and equipment. He also has a habit to obliterate anything and everything in its vicinity due to the destructive nature of his creations. No one has seen him in person. However, rumor has it that he collects various technologies to strengthen his real body or make a new one._

"Did you come here to stop it too?" Tatsumaki asked.

"It's a good target practice," answered the robot. "I might add. I am not Bofoi. I am "Metal Knight". Heroes call each other by their hero names, not real names. Everyone knows that."

"I don't care what I call you." Tatsumaki dismissed. "What do you mean by target practice?"

"As I want to answer your question, it looks like we don't have time for that." Metal Knight looked up towards the meteor. "You might want to step away."

"Hmph. Don't go bossing me around." The esper stubbornly answered and held her ground.

"Suit yourself."

Metal Knight lowered his knees for stability. The compartment on his back opened, revealing multiple warheads.

"Firing missiles!" he announced as the missiles went firing towards the meteor. The missiles were quite large and he fired every single one of them with impunity.

Tatsumaki looked up, protected from the exhaust of the missile thrusters by a barrier. She suspected that a single missile could obliterate the city itself.

The missiles reached their targets and exploded into a huge fireball that illuminated the sky with fiery burst of light. Tatsumaki instinctively covered her eyes as she felt the shockwave emitted by the blast.

Black clouds enveloped the sky, covering the city in darkness.

Tatsumaki glanced at the idle robot. _This guy means business. Even I can't endure that kind of blast._ She returned her gaze at the sky to make sure if the meteor withstood that barrage.

To her regret though, the meteor pierced the dark clouds away as if nothing had happened.

"Not potent enough, huh?" The robot said. "It seemed I need to add more firepower to it. Well, I could always build another base here after this city is obliterated." His thrusters opened and he flew away from the scene, leaving the esper alone.

 _Another base after this city is obliterated? He simply wanted to use the meteor as target practice and nothing more!_

Tatsumaki clenched her hands to a fist, feeling very angry and resentful. _Lives are at stake and number 2 simply shrugged it off to test his new toy._

 _If no one will do it, I will do it._

She looked up and estimated that the meteor will crash down a minute later. She weighed her options in her mind.

Could she deflect the meteor itself? No. The impact would still hit them even if it landed elsewhere and she couldn't deflect it back to space since it's now in terminal velocity and deep in the Earth's atmosphere. She could just slow its impact to a manageable degree but the problem lies was that the meteor would land on top of her. Even if it slowed down, the enormous meteor could still pack a lot of kinetic energy and would crush everything beneath it.

Either way, it doesn't sound good. If Metal Knight's missiles didn't leave much of a scratch, what can she do?

"First off, be calm." A voice said to her.

Tatsumaki opened her eyes that she inadvertently closed.

"I see you've lost your composure."

Tatsumaki turned her head and saw Bang a few meters away from her. _He's quick. I give him that._

"You are far too young to be worried about failure," Bang calmly advised. "When your back's up against the wall, you just have to do your best. The outcome won't change. So that's what is best."

 _Do your best?_

" _I thought I was gonna die but I persevered through the end."_

"Tsk. You don't have to tell me that, gramps." Tatsumaki emitted a green aura and she raised a hand towards the meteor.

 _All I have to do is give it my all. There is all to it!_

A green outline formed on the meteor's bottom end and started spreading out. The aura on Tatsumaki almost looked like green flames around her as she attempted to push back the impending meteor. She tried to pierce through it and cut it in half, but the meteor's composition was really sturdy and dense. She thought that at least Metal Knight might have softened it enough so she could crush it.

It wasn't the case, unfortunately.

After a few seconds, Tatsumaki has now both arms raised and her teeth clenched tightly.

 _This is the same with that baldy's training except this will tap my whole body to a splat if I fail. I'm going nowhere here._

"Dammit. It's not… working." Tatsumaki said in clenched teeth.

"No!" Bang disagreed. "I think I see the meteor being pushed back."

This gave Tatsumaki small hope. "R-really?"

"Oh, no. I'm sorry. It was just my imagination."

"You DAMN GRAMPS!"

"Wait. I apologize again, Miss Tatsumaki. You are making some progress. The meteor is slowing down, not being pushed back as I said previously."

Being slowed down or pushed back doesn't erase the fact that Tatsumaki was getting tired. A headache was now slowly forming. If she kept this up for long, she might pass out again before the meteor delivers her a one-way ticket to the afterlife.

 _C-can I… do this…? A… little more –_

"So this is the fuss all about." A new and familiar voice sounded. "The loud sirens woke me up from my nap."

"Hmm?" Bang turned towards their new guest. "Who… who are you?"

"I'm just a hero for fun." He answered. He looked towards the esper and continued, "Okay, Tatsumaki. Just hold it steady and I'll take care of it from there."

Tatsumaki perked an eye open and saw a costume of red, yellow and white getting launched from the roof, leaving an obvious shockwave from where he once stood.

 _S-Saitama…?_

The man went straight like a bullet towards a collision course with the meteor.

Cocking a fist back, he exclaimed between pauses. "You're not… gonna fall… on my town!"

With the last exclamation, his fist along with his entire being pierced through the meteor's dead center. Fractal cracks quickly formed on its surface as he went out from the other end. Due to the sheer amount of force exerted by both sides, the meteor exploded in a fireworks fashion, effectively dividing it to different chunks of rocks.

"He shattered it!" Bang exclaimed. "Unbelievable!" His eyes narrowed when he realized the situation they were now.

The meteor, a single destructive object, became meteorites that were quite destructive on their own. Its impact now would be spread evenly to avoid a catastrophic collision. But those pieces could still do damage.

Bang looked on the spreading debris when he noticed it stopped in mid-air and exploded again to fine dust. In longer observation, it was more that the meteorites where being crushed one by one to be more manageable once it reached ground. The atmosphere would disintegrate any large enough rocks that pose a threat.

The old man knew Tatsumaki was somehow responsible. With the strain of a single massive meteor off her shoulders, she focused more on damage control instead of doing nothing. She crushed the large debris first and it looked like a fireworks show happening.

Still, there were some stray meteorites that found their fiery fate on the ground and did some damage. Buildings were hit and the city was pelted continuously by rocks as big as a car to a size of a bullet.

Tatsumaki was doing her best to disintegrate the debris when she sensed some of them were heading towards her. She tried to create a barrier around her but the effort in managing a wide area left her without defense to spare.

"Fist of Flowing Water Crushing Rock." Bang quickly went in front of her and strike the rocks coming at her to pieces.

"Miss Tatsumaki," Bang said, striking every stray meteorites bearing down on them. "Just focus on the big ones. I'll keep you safe. At least this gramps has some use after all."

"Hmph! You don't have to tell me that!"

After several seconds, the emergency was finally resolved with no lives ended. City Z might be damaged but they could live with that.

Heh. Live with that.

Tatsumaki was totally exhausted from her efforts and she sat at the edge of the rooftop. She swore she would never lose consciousness like last time. She won't let Bang or Saitama carry her around even if they were close to a hospital.

Below, she noticed Saitama in a street, looking quite lost. He looked up and saw her. He began to casually wave at her and then gave her a thumbs up.

Tatsumaki quickly looked away, a blush on her cheeks. Although, she slowly returned her gaze at him and gave a nod. Was that a smile ghosting across her face? She couldn't care less if that was true after all they went through. They were still alive and that's a good thing.

x-x-x

The next day, Tatsumaki went to thank Saitama for his involvement. City Z avoided total destruction but it was still devastated. What was weird was that the ghost town was untouched while the heavily residential neighborhoods took the brunt of it. Tatsumaki couldn't blame herself for that since she did her best. It could have gone worse and nothing short of a miracle had saved their lives. She also has news that he might find pleasing.

Saitama welcomed her inside his apartment and they sat across each other. "So," Saitama started talking. "Is this about the training? Has it been a week already? Okay, just let me first wear –"

"No!" Tatsumaki said. "This isn't the training and I…" She cleared her voice and continued, "Well, I… uh, wanted to… thank you about yesterday. If it wasn't for you, the city might have been wiped out – even if it still took damage."

"Huh? I think we kept the damage to a minimum. At least no one died. That's enough for me."

 _He totally missed that I just thanked him,_ Tatsumaki thought _._ "The Hero Association should have called you instead of me." She sullenly said.

"Don't sweat it anymore. It's already done. Just feel relieved it's over, you know?" The bald man said as he reached one of his manga to read.

Tatsumaki looked up to him. "If it's anything to you, our ranks increased."

Saitama perked up in interest. "Really?"

"Yeah. I went up from Class S rank 16 to 15. They figured since I beat that rogue ninja and helped yesterday, they considered raising my rank. Metal Knight is still second, however. But yours improved noticeably. Your rank shot up from Class C rank 388 to 5."

"Number 5?!" Saitama said in disbelief. "From 388 to 5? What the hell?! That's crazy!"

"No. It's not crazy at all. It was a Dragon-level threat and only Class A and S are expected to do it."

"Eh?"

"If Metal Knight and I weren't involved, your rank would surely be Class A or something by now."

"Now that I thought about it, what's with this threat levels as demon or tiger or whatever? Does that mean anything?"

Tatsumaki wanted to retort that he should just read it from the guidebook to find out, but he saved her life so she just has to suck it up. "Yes. We have different threat levels with each threat higher than the last. Tiger: a crisis that threatened massive loss of life. Demon: A crisis threatening to halt the functioning of an entire city or its destruction. Dragon: a crisis threatening the destruction of multiple cities. God: a crisis threatening human extinction."

"Oh. I had no idea." Saitama muttered out.

"A threat could change depending on the situation and most heroes classify their ranks on the threat level. I guess it doesn't matter to us whether it's Demon or Dragon."

"Ah, yes. We solved that threat yesterday as real heroes. You know, we did a great job yesterday that we looked like a good duo. A good combination, perhaps."

When Tatsumaki registered what he just said, she quickly stood up and blushed madly. "W-what are you saying? We just... h-helped each other and nothing else!" She turned around, intending to leave. "I just came here to give you my thanks. That's all. Congratulations on your rank."

"Oh. Well, that's good to hear. You too." Saitama stood up. "I think I should visit the grocery store. Just to check if it's still intact."

"Tsk. Whatever you want."

Tatsumaki went back to her apartment and dropped on her bed.

 _I did it. I freaking did it._ Tatsumaki covered her eyes with her arms. _Why does he always say things like that? My heart just won't shut up._

Indeed, she stayed like this until she calmed down – which was quite a long time. Getting up, she guessed that she should check her laptop to catch up with recent events. She might not admit this but she found it pleasing if she saw her name as one of the heroes who saved the city.

Nothing wrong with that.

Tatsumaki turned on her laptop and started reading articles discussing the incident dubbed "The Meteor Crisis" by the media. It was about Metal Knight, Tatsumaki and then an occasional baldy from time to time. She scrolled down to read the comments when she read something completely off.

 _Who's the freaking baldy, huh? Messing with the S Class's jobs. He should have been fired for making the situation worse!_

 _Is there a petition in the Hero Association? That bald freak ruined my car! I want to form a petition to fire that jerk!_

 _Hey! Some say he stole the credit from the S Class heroes! He just left after he noticed he made it worse! What a bastard!_

 _You cheater! No one moves up the ranks without cheating! Go to hell with your bald head!_

 _You bald headed good-for-nothing shit! I failed the exam so you can cheat your way up! Wishing a monster would eat you up and shit you out from the other end!_

 _Why didn't he just die from a random meteor? Will make the world so much better and equal._

 _Why don't you take your bald head and push it somewhere –_

The laptop suddenly burst with sparks and smoke.

Tatsumaki could not take it anymore. She quickly slammed down the burnt out laptop viciously and went outside to warn him of the public's perception.

x-x-x

After finding out the crappy apartment that he was evicted out was still intact whereas the favorite store he always goes to was destroyed, Saitama found himself in the middle of a chanting crowd. He once imagined people to chant his name for his heroic deeds, but never the words "Give it up!" in the most mocking manner came to mind.

Out of nowhere two heroes who one claimed knew him started making a scene. He genuinely has no clue who they are. Before he knew what was happening, the crowd joined in and it ended like this, chanting in unison with no plans of stopping.

"Give it up! Give it up! Give it up! Give it up! Give it up! Give it up!"

They continued on like this for a while when a man in black top tank decided to talk differently. "Hey! He's getting ready to a fight!"

"Huh?" Saitama wondered. "What are you talking –"

"No way! You're gonna take out your frustration on these people here, just like you destroyed their city?!" the man accused. "Do you just kill everyone you don't like? I won't let you do that! We, the Tank-top Brothers, will not stand by and let you resort to violence!"

The two in tank top started walking towards Saitama while pointing an accusing finger at him. "If you're a hero, then fight us fair and square!"

The one in a striped colored hairstyle like the color of a giraffe began flexing his muscles. With a triumphant shout he lunged to attack the stoic bald hero and was quickly blasted away to some garbage bin.

"Little brother!" the black tank top man cried out. "You will pay for this!"

"No, wait." Saitama said as he stared at his hand. "I didn't do anything. I didn't even touch him. I swear." His words however went to deaf ears.

"I, Tank Top Black Hole, will avenge my brother and rip you to shreds!"

Black Hole lunged at Saitama with both hands wide open to strangle to life out of him. Suddenly, a fierce whirlwind descended between them. Dusts were raised up and the crowd covered their eyes. When the dust settled, what greeted them however were shouts of pleas from Black Hole. He was apparently floating, looking quite pained in his expression. And then between him and the bald man was a green haired girl clad in black, her arm raised at Black Hole.

"You have such a nerve to shout blatant lies like that." The girl threatened. Her green eyes were brimming with rage that some were terrified and flinched at its intensity. "If you ever think of touching him, I'll make sure that's the last thing you'll ever think about! Now, apologize!"

The esper clenched her hand slightly and Black Hole uttered a series of apologies that included their mothers. He finally confessed he was just lying and she should her grip off his hands but Tatsumaki was utterly unmoved.

These maggots were the ones they saved and they have the gall to talk back to them? Some heroes were not the only ones contemptuous but also these lowlifes who have no regards for people who risked their lives to save their pathetic skins.

Tatsumaki had heard enough, had been insulted enough. She could somehow bear if it was against her. But to someone who saved their lives, including _hers?_ They were just asking for it.

She was about to up the ante when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Staring at it, she saw the red glove of Saitama.

"Tatsumaki, that's enough." He chided her.

"Enough? No! They need to learn their lesson and I'm going to teach each and every–"

"He wasn't lying."

Tatsumaki released her grip and Black Hole curled like a scolded boy. "W…what?"

"Listen up!" Saitama exclaimed towards the crowd. "I'm the one who smashed the meteor! Anyone with a complaint, let's hear it! Speak up!"

One courageous fellow stammered, "Because of you, my brand new car was –"

"You can shut up!" Saitama countered. "Why would I care about your problems while I'm dealing with a meteor?! Tell your sob stories to the meteor, you jackass! For the record, I don't do this hero-thing for admiration! I do it because I want to!"

Tatsumaki remained silent, listening to one of his speeches once again. She couldn't put a finger on it but she was getting the feeling not everything coming out from his mouth was nonsense.

"So if you wanna blame me, go ahead! You baldies!" Saitama taunted.

"Y-you're the baldy…" pointed out by one of the crowd.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Saitama snapped. He was about to unleash another tirade when he felt his cape was continually being tugged. He looked to his side and saw Tatsumaki with a somber expression, holding his cape.

"Oh, Tatsumaki. Hang on while I put these guys in their –"

"Let's just leave." The esper simply responded. Saitama glanced at her again. "They're not worth it."

Saitama stared at her for a few seconds but then complied. "Uh, sure."

The two heroes walked away, leaving the crowd and the tank tops.

"Dammit." Saitama cursed after walking a few paces away. "That guy's face is burned in my brain. I'm gonna remember this."

"I don't get you." Tatsumaki said.

Saitama turned to her. "What?"

"I don't get you at all." Tatsumaki repeated. "You once complained to me why people don't know you. Now that they know you and didn't want you, you suddenly said you're doing this because you wanted to. What was it then, huh? Why are you doing this if others don't want you to?"

Saitama released a sigh. "You're right. I'm only doing this for fun. However, don't you want others to applaud your efforts? Then again, I'm not doing this sorely for that. I'm just doing this for the sake of it. I'll still go out there and save them. It doesn't matter what they say. At the end of the day, I'm a hero no matter what they say and that's enough for me."

Tatsumaki was again surprised at his response.

"I really don't have any dramatic reason that pushed me what I am today. I was simply bored. You may be upset by this but that's just it."

There may be a world of difference between them but Tatsumaki could give merit to someone who has such conviction to their own cause, no matter how lame they might seem to be. Her tragic life had offered so much reason to keep on hating; now this man here simply stated nothing in his life affected him in any way. He may be annoyed by bare insults but overall, he was a man of conviction, a man with a one-track mind. What many deeds he could have done with his godly powers and yet he chose the life close to a hermit. Others would not have the fortitude to do that and it made her see him in a different light.

"But, you know." Tatsumaki said eyes downcast. "Even if everyone hated you, I still know you're the one who saved us. And for that, on behalf of the people you saved, thank you for saving us."

Saitama blinked a couple times. "You don't have to butter me up. Really. Especially sounding cute like that."

Tatsumaki raised her head, blushing. "W-wait! I'm not trying to –" she stopped. Saitama was… smiling? It was a different smile from before. Was that smile out of gratitude? It was just a small smile but it somehow told her it was different.

Saitama turned around and started to walk away.

"H-hey! Wait up!" Tatsumaki followed, a small smile in her lips.

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **3 months AWOL. I'm terribly sorry so to come up for it, I greatly extended this chapter to the longest one yet. It was a collection of writings I wrote over the long absence so I pieced it together instead of making a short story arch. Sorry, it's kinda boring but what can you do? Sue me?**

 **In this chapter you might be surprised why Metal Knight is revealed as ranked 2, totally replacing Tatsumaki of canon. Well, he's not an old geezer here and really, the man commands an army, a freaking army! He can do shit done unbelievably fast too! I can only give a hint how personally strong he is in this story: _Nanomachines, son!_**

 **Whelp, I apologize if I can't respond to all of the reviews. I do try though but I get busy! I greatly appreciate them so leave a review whenever you liked the story and want more.**

 **As always, reviews are greatly appreciated and see you in the next chapter!**

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"Let's just go. They're not worth it."

"Uh, sure."

The two heroes started to walk away as the crowd became silent. The sight of their heralded Tank Top heroes defeated that easily and hearing the bald man's reasoning, their shameful act finally took root. They dispersed and decided to call it a day.

"Man," a man muttered to no one in particular. "Even if he's bald, he still has a girlfriend."

A vein throbbed in Tatsumaki's head.

A rock floated behind the annoying man and, without anyone noticing whatsoever, the rock suddenly smacked the back of his head, completely knocking him out.


	13. The Sea Folk Invasion (Part 1)

**Chapter 13: The Sea Folk Invasion (Part 1)**

* * *

"One more time?"

Tatsumaki was breathing heavily, not because of exhaustion but of sheer irritation. She was seething that despite for how many damned times he said those words already, there's no change to this routine. Doing her best apparently wasn't enough and those three simple words testified she was going nowhere. She once asked if Saitama's feeling something, anything for pushing him back. He simply said "No" and walked away to repeat his walking exercise.

"S-Sure." Tatsumaki answered, managing to hide her temper.

Staring at the bald man walking away, Tatsumaki's mind was going a thousand miles per second. Continuing like this without any measure how she would improve was futile. Saitama said that by doing this repeatedly her powers would improve accordingly.

But what the hell, how could they be sure of that regarding espers?

Was this just an endurance training more than anything else? The meteor incident made her aware of her limits. However, she doesn't get easily drained like Fubuki does regarding their powers. That was what the experiments had done to her: stretching her telekinetic reserves so she could last long. The bastard scientists wanted to prolong the tests on her to get as much result as possible.

This training was just the same, only more humane and tedious. But on second thought, she was pushing herself hard like training should be. That Genus scientist said limits are only adjusted and can be surpassed again. Was she on the furthest limit now? No. She was sure she could still get strong without losing her mind like the experiments nearly led her.

 _Human beings are strong because we have the ability to change ourselves._

Change was needed, but she needed to train wisely, not just train hard.

"One more time?"

"One more time?"

"One more time?"

Those three words grated in Tatsumaki's ears. At the end of the latest setback, Tatsumaki was silently gritting her teeth and clenching her fists tightly that a single pinprick would burst her into a rampage.

 _I need to get strong,_ she thought resolutely. _I must. I can't be weak._

"Uh, you okay?" Saitama asked.

Tatsumaki simply hung her head low.

"You know, we could take a short break." Saitama suggested. "I didn't run 10 kilometers straight nor did 100 push-ups in one go. You can take a quick rest if you like."

As much as Tatsumaki was greatly annoyed by his "intense training regimen", she understood his point.

"Sure. Whatever you want." The esper answered succinctly.

"Just call me if you're ready." Saitama began to walk near a cliff for shade. He pulled a manga tucked on his back, sat and read his book, completely minding his own business. Tatsumaki, on the other hand, just stood and leaned on a cliff not that far from her… mentor. The word was still strange to use if Tatsumaki was concerned. One couldn't spell "tormentor" without "mentor" with how much annoyance she faced regarding this man.

True, they have known each other for quite some time now but Tatsumaki wasn't one to strike a random conversation to anyone.

Ever.

It seemed Saitama wasn't interested in that either. That annoyed her, surprisingly, and she couldn't pinpoint (or rather admit) why. Social niceties wasn't her forte and she'll be damned if she'll act as vain as Fubuki to coerce someone for pep talk. It always felt odd to her if there was nothing of value involved in a conversation. It also didn't help that Saitama has knack to say random things that would make her hastily retreat.

Instead, Tatsumaki went back to thinking about how she could get the best out of this training. She wasn't that tired yet but she needed this time to think this through. This training, no matter how simple, was very viable for an esper. But as all training, she needed to approach this wisely and efficiently.

It may not look like it but Tatsumaki was a very analytical person despite her short temper. It calls to be smart when every battle her life was on the line. Sheer force just won't cut it in this day and age.

Tatsumaki stared at the bald man reading silently. There was something unique about him in that he can't be controlled. The case about him was that she was not pushing him at all. She noticed this because if so, he should be surrounded by the green outline and from there, he'll fight it. It wasn't the case with him, however. She's just trying to penetrate whatever resistance he mustered to no avail.

She was definitely missing something.

The esper browsed her mind to figure out this puzzle. She hasn't been in this situation before so it was mind-boggling to her. No. This wasn't the first time she can't control someone. There was someone who she can't control initially and that was…

 _I have telepathy too. I use it to control my minions. You can't control me if I severed the link between us._

It was like a light bulb lit up above Tatsumaki's head. When she first discovered her powers, she learned that, unlike inanimate objects, living beings, even if they're not psychics, project energy like "chi" or "aura" that she could control to arrest movement. It was a simple thing she didn't bother much, but because of Mosquito Girl's words, a telepath could cut the link from any telekinesis user to prevent their energy from being manipulated. If the link wasn't there, then she was powerless. It was actually unexpected information she hadn't thought before.

It was logical but Saitama wasn't a telepath as far as she knew. But what she knew was he's a godly freak of nature. Tatsumaki could feel she was close.

Could it be that he's projecting so much energy that that alone manages to repel it? Was it like gravity that the higher the mass the greater its pull? Reversing that it pushes instead, his godly powers alone emanate such psychic resistance passively. If power equates willpower like what Genus said, he must have an ungodly thick willpower too.

Tatsumaki's eyes widened upon this revelation.

Damn. She didn't expect those science classes in high school would help her figure this one out. To be fair, Saitama based her training to video games and manga, and that was more ridiculous.

 _I don't know if this would work but it's worth a try._

"Hey," Tatsumaki said to Saitama.

The bald man, without his eyes leaving his book, replied, "Oh, you're good already? It's been about… 10 minutes. You could take a longer break than –"

"No! I want to start now!" Tatsumaki was startled when Saitama stood up, expression dead serious. Indeed, Saitama looked like he's about to kill someone. For some reason Tatsumaki thought she was about to be heavily scolded like a master disciplining their student for bad manners.

"The manga," muttered the bald man.

"What?"

"…It ended in a cliffhanger."

Tatsumaki blinked a couple times.

"What kind of practice is that anyway?" Saitama complained. "It's a cashgrab, and screw the author who makes a story like that and makes us wait for an indefinite long time for its continuation!"

"Uhh, okay." Tatsumaki's mind was still reeling.

"Oh, sorry for the rant. Let's continue with the training." Saitama said, reverting back to his carefree self. He tucked the manga on his back and started to walk.

Tatsumaki was dumbfounded. Shrugging the weird incident, she followed Saitama to continue her training.

 _This man really is weird._

The two heroes were once again in their respective starting positions.

"So you're okay now?" Saitama asked, and Tatsumaki nodded. "Well, here goes." He began to walk towards the esper.

Tatsumaki was rechecking her theory. One of the basics of telekinesis was visualizing an object in how to properly handle it. Composition, weight, mass, and awareness of location were vital factors to consider first. Psychic powers were more on the mind, after all. Focusing on its center of gravity or points of balance and then exerting enough force to lift it instead of crushing it were now second nature to her. Otherwise, she could inadvertently crack someone's skull or even her own if she used it carelessly.

She was trying to push Saitama back as usual, but she's trying to learn more about Saitama's odd psychic resistance. In her mind, she could visualize something wrapped around him. It was messing with her focus and any grip she did was sliding off of him.

This energy. She doesn't need to force her way in but rather disrupt this first. Could she –

"One more time?"

 _WHAT?!_

"S-sure. One more time." Tatsumaki answered, frustrated. She hasn't even tested anything yet and she failed spectacularly again.

Saitama did his routine of walking away and then returning. Tatsumaki this time knew what she needed to do.

After several tries, Saitama was becoming bored and Tatsumaki getting tired. The sun was now slowly setting and Saitama was pondering what kind of supper he'll have tonight.

"One more time?"

Tatsumaki was now at her wit's end. She's tired and frustrated that so far her efforts were in vain as always. Could she be wrong? She's doing her damned best here and yet not much of a result.

"Y-yeah." The esper breathe out.

"It's getting dark." Saitama pointed out. "After this, we'll go back."

Tatsumaki was planning not to lose consciousness this time so he may be right.

 _Just one last try._

Saitama walked away and then returned towards the esper. He was thinking of the manga he read and pondered what would happen next. He wasn't much into predictions because nowadays authors do an incredible asspull from time to time. If it was popular they'll delay the story for much, much longer to benefit from it.

Not that he's complaining though as long as it's a good read.

He was about to tap the esper's shoulder to finish this training when his index and middle fingers twitched. His fingers were in a spasm that it delayed tapping her on the shoulder. This surprised him, although his blank expression not giving it away.

Finally, Saitama tapped the esper's shoulder. When he did so, Tatsumaki suddenly collapsed on her knees.

"H-hey! You okay?" Saitama asked in a panic, kneeling in one knee.

"How… was it?" Tatsumaki weakly asked.

Saitama thought for a second. "You're making progress. I don't know what you did but you surprised me." Tatsumaki grinned at that.

Saitama stood up. "Can you stand up?"

"You bet… your ass I can."

Tatsumaki tried to stand up and only resulted for her to wobble out of control. She tried to get her bearings and it ended her stumbling on the bald man's chest.

Realizing this, Tatsumaki weakly pushed off of him.

"Uh, thanks." She muttered out.

"No problem." Saitama replied quite confused since he didn't really catch her. "You sure you're okay?"

Tatsumaki faintly glowed green and she slowly floated. "Y-yeah. I think I'm getting a hang of this." There was a mild strain in her head like last time but this was tolerable. She should have just floated instead of trying to stand up and ending up like a cover of some clichéd romantic novel.

"Oh, that's good." Saitama said. He turned around and started walking away as Tatsumaki hovered behind him. She was dipping up and down due to her training but she was insistent she's fine. If she said so, it doesn't bother him.

When they were in the city outskirts Saitama began to speak, "Oh, which reminds me."

Tatsumaki stared at him, expression balefully worn out.

"I ran out of kombu the other day. I heard there's a sale on kombu in a newly opened store. The meteor did destroy some stores so maybe they're attracting new customers."

Tatsumaki remembered that there was a big pile of kombu beside his door last week. Whatever he's doing with it, it shouldn't have been hair-related. It wasn't her business what he's trying to do with it or how did he get a lot of it. He's weird enough to begin with and this is no different.

The two separated ways with Saitama going to this aforementioned kombu store while Tatsumaki went back to their apartment building. Even if Tatsumaki wanted to go with him (and she really didn't want to just to be clear), an S class hero on a verge of consciousness wasn't a good sight in public.

And so, after going back to her apartment refuge and not having enough strength to slam the door off its poor state, Tatsumaki dropped on her bed. It's more like she collapsed on it.

 _It worked,_ Tatsumaki thought. _It may not look like it but I did something at least. Now, I just have to test it if it was worth it._

Tatsumaki leaned her forehead on her bed and strangely enough what glossed over her mind was an image of her leaning her forehead on Saitama's chest when she clumsily fell earlier. This of course made her blush like a tomato.

Damn these thoughts to the deepest hell. Why was she thinking such things frequently now? It was uncharacteristic of her to imagine herself in a ridiculous and clichéd situations. This was reserved for weak damsel-in-distress who needed rescuing by their knight-in-shining-armor hero. She was the most powerful esper in the world, the Terrible Tornado, S class ranked 15, not some spoiled princess.

To think about it though, he had saved her life three times now. So he's like her knight-with-shining-bald-head hero in retrospect.

Tatsumaki took a pillow and threw it to some random location, hopefully to hit something breakable. Her mind keeps getting back to the place she doesn't want to think about. That bald man had indeed done something to the detriment of her mind and sanity. She's getting stronger from training but at the cost of thinking outrageous ideas.

She definitely had to rest for a few days unless the Hero Association had something to keep her busy. Also, she came up with a different move earlier and she's eager to test it as soon as possible. All it did was moving Saitama's fingers but imagine if she would exert such effort to a normal monster?

That would be a sight to behold.

x-x-x

A few days passed, Tatsumaki had fully recovered both mind and body. She didn't embarrass herself like last time by burdening herself of the common nuisances normal people faced daily. It seemed it's much better to train with moderation than giving everything at first try. Maybe she should ask Saitama if they should do this more often. Consistency is key in every training, if only she doesn't make a fool of herself by falling on him or ending up sleeping on his bed.

Tatsumaki was once again surfing the TV for anything worthwhile. So far though, there was no call from the Hero Association that merited immediate attention. She was dying to test her newfound skill to some monster unfortunate enough to face her.

A news channel flashed on the TV about an invasion of some sea monsters who called themselves the Sea Folk. There was a Class A hero named Stinger who was currently fighting the monsters, but with the looks of it he's losing the battle. The hero had managed to kill some monsters but was still outnumbered. The threat was only Tiger-level and only Class A and below was called to handle this. However, more monsters keep coming out from the sea and it looked like this threat will be raised into Demon-level.

Tatsumaki watched the news with rapt attention. Those monsters were the perfect candidates she's been searching for. Before she went out, her cellphone rang. She quickly answered it and gave the caller a contemptuous reply of "What do you want?".

"Miss Tatsumaki," responded the female caller. "There is a monster invasion happening in City J. If you're available we would like to ask you to –"

"City J?!" Tatsumaki cut in. "Do you know how far that is from here?!"

"I apologize, Miss Tatsumaki. We can procure a transport by air or by land to escort you there if you so –"

"Forget it." Tatsumaki dismissed. She doesn't need some escort to make her feel special. The last time she was escorted she woke up from someone's bed. "I don't need any. I'll head there anyway."

"Thank you Miss Tatsumaki. We greatly appreciate your –"

Tatsumaki cut the call, unwilling to repeat her point again.

She went out of her apartment and returned her gaze to a specific door.

At this point, her body automatically moved before her mind could protest. Feeling irritated, she forcefully turned her head away and continued on her way.

x-x-x

City J was far. Too far.

Tatsumaki had to increase her speed bordering in the ridiculous in hopes the monsters weren't wiped out by other heroes responding too. Metal Knight could summon another robot and blast the city along with the monsters. Better yet, he could show up himself and disintegrate anyone in his way in a molecular level. She may be wishing the impossible given the man's enigmatic personality as rank 2 but she had read rumors from the internet that Metal Knight was named not because of his metallic robots but what he looked like personally.

Was he a cyborg perhaps? Did his testing of weapons have any value to himself? His missiles were very destructive that could potentially kill him too in its blast radius. He must have been using it as long range ballistics test. Or perhaps he was using it only to measure how destructive his missiles could be. It's unlikely he couldn't survive something he's own creations could do. Even so, it's quite mind-boggling that he, a Class S rank 2 hero, couldn't do anything about the meteor unlike Saitama who was dead last in the rankings. He could have done something himself instead of relying on his paltry robots.

It seemed Metal Knight's callousness to show up in public knew no bounds, as so too for S Class rank 1, Blast. It was despicable how these two highest ranked members of the Association to be strangely absent when they are needed most.

Either way, she needed to come to City J first before anyone else. Rank 1 or 2 or whatever means nothing now. Saitama himself only became a hero out of fun or boredom. Tatsumaki couldn't imagine being a hero was fun when it's their very lives are at stake.

Tatsumaki flew above the outgoing highways of City J. The citizens were now fleeing in droves like what also happened with the meteor.

"Emergency evacuation warning," announced on the public speakers. "The threat level has been raised from Tiger to Demon. All citizens of City J please evacuate immediately."

 _Great. I'm not late to the party._

Tatsumaki quickly went where she suspected monsters should come out: in the sea shore. Before she went in there, she met a squad of sea monsters roaming in the streets. The monsters saw her and began to approach her.

"Others of our kind were wiped out by your disgusting race," said a monster looking like a grotesque combination of a shark and human, pointing a sharp fin at her.

"What's that on your head?" a bipedal crab-turtle asked. "Why is there a plant growing on it?" The monsters roared in laughter.

"P-plant?" Tatsumaki replied, offended. "You ugly disgusting monster! You'll gonna regret saying that!" However, her already puny voice was drowned out by the monsters' laughter.

"Are you related to seaweed by any chance?"

The other monsters continued in their laughter loudly while Tatsumaki, dangerously silent, glowed green.

"Not only that, the human seemed to be related to an angler fish or jellyfish if it could produce light on its own." The monster pulled a sword like a fish's backbone. "Enough jokes! Time for payback!"

The monster ran towards the floating esper and ran down his sword. Before it made contact, the monster stopped in his tracks and began to convulse horribly. A second later, he was disintegrated in a whirlwind of death, splattering the buildings with blue blood, as his sword fell to the ground with a crack.

"W-what happened?" one monster asked, dumbfounded.

Tatsumaki smirked. "Spin, spin, spin."

"You'll pay for that!"

The monsters began to run in unison towards her and Tatsumaki slowly floated to meet them. What happened next was a whirlwind grind fest of tentacles, pincers, carapace and shells scattering all throughout.

Tatsumaki was correct that if performed on a monster, it would instantly finish them off. She doesn't have to rely on her powers to manually generate spin. She could simply use their very energies against them without using much of her own. Manipulating their own energies and spin it violently so it would destroy its host instead. Against Saitama, she could only make his fingers twitch. She had to limit herself to his fingers since it's far away from his center mass and thus have the weakest resistance theoretically. Even so, it took all her energy to make them finally move.

This wasn't just improving her powers accordingly. This was more that she'll have an easier time anything below Saitama's level. If she manages to nudge him back, that means she'll practically blast a monster out of the Earth's atmosphere and then some.

So this was the result she's been hoping for.

Tatsumaki was thinking what she would call this new move. _Astral… disintegration? Astral spin? Vortex? Disruption? Destruction?_

 _Astral Annihilation._

That sounds rather fitting. It sounds terrifying like a one-hit death technique should be.

Tatsumaki went the length of the street when she noticed the monsters were all dead. She turned around and saw the carnage she caused. It barely used her powers at all.

A movement from the edge of her sight caught her attention. There, in an alley, was a shrimp monster cowering out of sight.

Tatsumaki raised an arm towards the monster and the monster was quickly pulled towards her.

"I-I surrender! Please spare me!" the monster pleaded.

"I have a question for you." Tatsumaki said. "Is that all of you ugly monsters or are there still someone out there?"

"We are the last ones to get ashore," answered the monster, his chitinous mouth quivering. "The Sea King ordered us that we should leave him alone. He wanted the kill for himself without anyone bothering him."

"Sea King, huh? Any chance you know where he is?"

"I don't know where he is but he always goes to numerous targets all at once."

 _The evacuation shelter. That's where he's going._ "That sounds about right." Tatsumaki faced the shore and threw the monster far out towards the sea.

 _Now. Better get going before he slaughtered everyone there._

x-x-x

Tatsumaki arrived at the public shelter. It was heavily raining now, making the scenery looking depressing. Thanks to her psychic powers, the rain slid off of her without drenching her. At least it would clean the mess she left behind earlier.

The shelter was pretty much intact except for a gaping hole in one side. Someone had forcibly gotten inside already and she expected the worst. The shelters the Hero Association provided weren't that strong and secured as they flaunted it out to be. It should have been a secret bunker instead of a dome that serves as a beacon for monsters to attack.

A blast occurred making a second hole on the shelter's roof. Tatsumaki noticed there was something being blown away. Using her powers, she stopped its descent and was surprised to find out it was Snek, the Class A instructor during the exams.

"The… civilians… monster… inside." He muttered and then fell unconscious.

Tatsumaki lowered him gently.

 _He did his darned best already. Not it's my turn._

Tatsumaki entered the big hole the monster apparently created to enter the building.

"Are you the Sea King your ugly kin told me about?" she asked upon seeing a huge monster far away from the crowd. Her voice echoed around the dome and the monster along with the crowd heard her. The monster was dressed in a regal way, sporting a monarch crown and a royal red cape clipped with a golden fish accessory. What was out of place was that he was wearing thin red underwear and has marks of twin hearts on his chest. He appeared humanoid in posture, has a pasty white face and his physique looked like a bizarre muscular merman.

Tatsumaki also sensed some civilians scattered unconscious and gravely injured. It seemed they were also heroes who fought but stood no chance against the monster.

 _Why do they even bother?_ Tatsumaki wondered.

"So what if I am?" the monster answered without even turning around.

Tatsumaki landed in the massive space between the crowd and the Sea King.

 _This is strange,_ Tatsumaki thought, staring at the monster. _I can't sense his energy. He is different than the monsters before. Is he a telepath? I shouldn't prolong this battle like I did with that mosquito monster if that is the case._

Sea King turned around. "You must be another soldier…"

"Bombardment."

Orbs of energy rained down on the Sea King and he held up his arms to shield himself. Explosions rocked the monster as dust flew up in the air to cover around him.

"You're not one to wait, are you?" Sea King said. He waved his arms around to put out the dust in front of him and began to step forward only for him to find out he couldn't move his legs. Right on his legs were two glowing beings holding on to it. The gravity suddenly became heavy and the Sea King fought to keep standing.

A pillar of green light enclosed him and a fierce tornado started cutting him everywhere.

"So you've used the dust to hide the things on my legs." Sea King said while being sliced. "A nice combo but…" He slowly and forcibly lifted up his arms and then puffed up his chest wildly with a loud grunt that it dispersed the barrier and the tornado around him.

What greeted him after was a ball of energy to the face and it blinded him in a bright flash of light.

"My… eyes!" cried the Sea King. "I can't see…"

Instinctively, the Sea King raised an arm and felt something hot strike his palm. Upon the next blink, his eyes went back to normal and felt he was being pushed back by the esper, her hand in a fiery green light.

As it was, Tatsumaki was surprised he had managed to guard her attack. It should have bisected him from top to bottom if he didn't block it.

"You do like combo attacks, don't you?" Sea King said in a grin. "Not only that, you follow it one after the other in order to hide it. I haven't even made a move yet."

"Tsk. You talk too much." Tatsumaki replied, trying hard to push through her attack. She had him if only she could finish him right here and now.

Sea King grinned wide. "Now, let me –"

"Big sister!" a little girl shouted from the crowd. "I know you can do it!"

Tatsumaki gazed towards the girl as so do Sea King.

 _F-Fubuki?_

"You monkeys shut up! Be quiet!" At this, the Sea King spat an acid ball towards the young girl. The esper had her sights on the acid ball and the Sea King was ready to exploit this momentary distraction.

However, the acid sputum went back to his face and severely burned him. This distracted him instead and he lost composure.

With this advantage, Tatsumaki increased her efforts to the point the green light shone brightly and extended greatly even up to her shoulder.

In a shout, the attack finally cut passed through the Sea King's hand and landed on his right shoulder. The attack continued to slice diagonally through his body down to the waist to cut the Sea King roughly in two. The monster's expression was in total shock to his sudden demise.

The upper part of the Sea King fell back and was followed by the other half, blue blood pooling on the bare cement.

Tatsumaki stood still and breathed heavily. The light on her right arm dissipated and it revealed the sleeve was burned in the attack, leaving her arm bare. There were also burn marks on some parts of her arm.

 _I did it,_ Tatsumaki thought. _I did what that baldy told me before._

" _It should fuel you, not let you dictate how you fight or cloud your judgment. You better control your emotions, at least in a fight._

 _I can't believe it'll actually help me. I won't let you harm her anymore._

Tatsumaki returned her gaze towards the crowd and to the little girl she thought to be her sister. It might have distracted her before but not anymore. It actually reminded her when Fubuki was encouraging her when they were kids.

Cheers of triumph greeted the esper upon her victory.

"Woah! Is that how an S Class fights? That is so bad ass!"

"The monster is dead! We're saved!"

"I think she's the one who stopped the meteor in City Z last week! That was amazing!"

"Isn't she the people calls in City Z as Tornado of Terror Tatsumaki? She really is the real deal!"

 _Tornado of Terror? Not my call but I guess it's okay too. I must have scared the people when I dealt with those poser heroes before._

The cheers continued on and on that Tatsumaki started to feel embarrassed over the celebration. She's not used to this kind of treatment even if she felt she really deserved it. Perks of being a hero, she guessed. Fubuki or even Saitama might have revel with it but not her.

 _I would never have thought I would –_

"Big sister! Behind you!"

Tatsumaki was quickly startled as she felt something behind her. What she felt next was a big fist slamming on her right arm in a clean hit. She viciously careened straight to a wall and her impact left a small crater.

 _What… the hell… happened._

"You nearly killed me there." A monstrous angry voice echoed. "Now you make _us_ angry. We will tear you to shreds!"

Tatsumaki slowly got out of the rubble, clutching her right arm.

 _Damn. That was harder than the beetle monster's punch. Even if my shield was up, I still felt that. I didn't even have the chance to create a duplicate since I didn't sense it. God damn telepaths._ She tried to move her bare right arm and felt a jolt of pain that made her wince.

"Do you monkeys know what planarians are or how they work?"

Tatsumaki raised her head and, to her horror, there were now _three_ identical Sea Kings regenerating from the parts left earlier. One was from a torn arm, the second from his torso, and the last was from his upper body. His human face had now turned to a fierce looking monster with sharp teeth and slit eyes.

"I can regenerate a torn part of my body to a new one," explained by one Sea King. "I guess you pathetic land creatures can't do that."

Tatsumaki inwardly cursed that despite she did tried to finish him of quickly, she fell prey instead of letting her guard down again. It's the same like before whenever her focus was on people and it distracted her. It was an unforgivable blunder that cost lives.

The crowd looked aghast at this sudden turn of events. Cheers turned into frightful screams and they started running away towards the nearest exit. One Sea King caught sight of this and he grinned devilishly.

"None of you monkeys will escape me!" he exclaimed sadistically and ran towards the fleeing crowd. The other two went towards Tatsumaki in a mad dash, intent that it was also reserved for her.

And to Tatsumaki, clutching her injured right arm, she wasn't sure if she could save them – let alone herself.

* * *

 **Author's Corner:** **Yep! Update! I apologize if the chapter isn't long like the previous one. Combining the arc in a single chapter makes it unbearably long. Still, I felt the pacing of this chapter to be quite slow. Maybe it's just me but it has a lot of "filler words" than necessary. The next chapter will conclude the arc and that is where the real battle is. But, yeah. If you have watched Episode 9 of the anime you'll practically know half of it, but there would be the usual changes and twist. I can say the battle would mostly be original as there are 3 freaking Sea Kings vs a lone Tatsumaki. I kinda feel sorry for her, though.**

 **I can't believe we're already in the Sea Folk arc. Only a few chapters left and season 1 (and this fic) is over! Thanks for the reviews so far! I never dreamed of having a story to be in the top 5 favorites/follows! I'm still astounded whenever I filter it and the story is just right there. I'm amateurish if my flawed writings is any indication but I do appreciate any feedback, long or short!**

 **Well, reviews are always lovingly appreciated and welcomed and see you in the next chapter!**


	14. The Sea Folk Invasion (Part 2)

**Chapter 14: The Sea Folk Invasion (Part 2)**

* * *

"None of you monkeys will escape me!" The three Sea Kings attacked with one going for the fleeing crowd while the two went towards Tatsumaki who was clutching her right arm.

Tatsumaki assessed the situation to be grim. The last time she really thought she was going to die from a monster she made some final thoughts, resigned to her looming fate. A lesser person would have folded and given up.

" _When your back's up against the wall, you just have to do your best. The outcome won't change."_

 _That gramps. He has to lecture me like that. As if I'm not being lectured enough by that baldy._

Tatsumaki banished any doubts in her mind, eyes sharp with determination.

 _It's now or never._

The esper glowed green and flew to meet the two Sea Kings running towards her. The monsters grinned wild at the challenge, sharp claws at the ready.

To their surprise, however, the esper split into two green lights and went around them. They turned around and saw the two lights aiming for the lone Sea King targeting the crowd.

Because of its positioning, the one on the left arrived faster and was about to skewer the running Sea King through the temple with its glowing hand. The Sea King, without even looking, craned his head back, evading the attack. In one smooth motion, the monster quickly maneuvered his right hand and smashed the esper to the ground.

The second arrived to finish what the first started, but was suddenly grabbed whole by a hand of another Sea King.

"Not so fast!" exclaimed the Sea King who smashed the esper earlier. The second Sea King clenched his hand tightly and could feel the inside being crushed.

Wanting to see what he nearly did to some speedy monkey, the monster opened his hand and was surprised it was a just a blotch of bright green that was slowly spreading out on his hand.

"Huh?" the hand glowed in an intense green light and then exploded in a horrific fashion, taking out the half of his body. He staggered back and fell to the ground, scorched.

The first Sea King shielded himself from the explosion with his left arm. His right palm flat on the ground suddenly felt extremely hot and before he could react, the esper burst out from the back of his palm. He quickly retracted his right arm back and was given a sight of a being which seemed composed of green light turning around to slash at his neck, cutting his head clean off its shoulders. The headless body fell to the ground as the head landed beside it.

The third Sea King far away looked dumbfounded at the sudden demise of his two copies.

"You've been watching your other selves that you didn't notice I snuck up on you."

The monster looked at source of the voice and saw the esper snapping her fingers. His left foot exploded, followed by the other one. He tried to maintain his balance using his arms but that too exploded in random places. Soon his body exploded with small explosions that dismembered the third Sea King to pieces.

The crowd at this point stopped running away, seeing the monster died for four times now. The S Class hero along with her double floated between them and the carnage she caused. They were about to cheer for the second when Tatsumaki spoke to them in a rather loud voice, "You idiots! Don't go running around in a stampede that could kill someone! Don't go outside that green dome. I can't guarantee your safety if you morons panic."

The people quickly heeded her advice and huddled inside the green barrier Tatsumaki set up. She knew this was far from over. The thought of luring the monsters outside the shelter to a favorable location with no civilians around crossed her mind. But the Sea Kings were hell-bent to killing the civilians along with her. She suspected he would leave at least one to deal with them, and that was what he did.

Moreover, her attacks were a gamble in her part. This might have made the situation worse by spawning more Sea Kings from his dismembered parts. But what can she do to rid of him completely? There has to be some way.

Tatsumaki observed the Sea King's carcasses. Few seconds later, the headless Sea King sat up and grabbed its decapitated head, putting it back to its torn neck. Tendrils went out from the head and exposed neck and connected to each other. The reconnected head opened his closed eyes in a manic glee.

"Interesting." The once decapitated Sea King said. "Your attacks are very different from the others. Each of your combos has intent to kill your opponent as quickly as possible."

The one with half of its body blasted began moving. Muscles quickly grew on the scorched ones and quickly spread out to re-create his missing half. Rough green skin and other features appeared on it and he stood up, looking brand new. Meanwhile, the one dismembered had his pieces coming together as if it was putting itself back.

"Perhaps you enjoyed the killing, don't you?" continued the Sea King. "And I thought it's another trash washed on my shore. With such a short span, you managed to deal all of us. You're definitely different from those who barely gave a challenge. To think there are surface dwellers that can put up a fight. This is going to be fun."

While the Sea King said these words which Tatsumaki paid no attention whatsoever, the esper quickly analyzed carefully what she saw.

First, his regeneration was insane. She already knew this first hand courtesy of a punch on her right arm. The monster could re-attach a cut off part almost instantly. It reminded her of Sweet Mask who also has that regenerative ability. But unlike him, this monster could grow new parts even up to the whole of his being from scratch. He's definitely a planarian alright. The third regenerative ability was the most surprising. The pieces seemed sentient themselves that they pieced themselves together. The ones that were absolutely in no shape and of no use were left out. It doesn't matter as the rest simply created a new one.

Second, he's fast enough to react from her attacks. There were three of them and they might share the same sight. This was already obvious as one Sea King dodged an attack without even looking at it. It could lead that they could cooperate instinctively, thus making this even harder.

Third, he's a goddamned telepath, each of them. Tatsumaki could have easily annihilated this monster if it wasn't for that. Her telekinesis won't work on him and she couldn't sense their locations like what happened when he landed a punch on her.

Lastly, he reverted back to his "human" form. His beastly face went back to that pasty white human face. He doesn't look like the monstrous form he took earlier. Perhaps this was only aesthetic as he still looked deadlier than ever.

With all these information, there was something that doesn't seem right and was somewhat contradictory.

If he was a full-fledged planarian, why didn't the parts regenerated separately instead of connecting to one another in forming a single copy? He also needed to attach his head that could have grown a new body by itself. The other half of his body was capable of regenerating so in effect, he can create four copies by dividing those two. But that wasn't the case. It seemed he was only limited to three copies at a time.

Three Kings. Quite poetic.

The monster also said that he was nearly "killed" earlier. If by blasting, decapitating or dismembering won't work, why did he say that? Could she just wail at him until he couldn't regenerate anymore? Wailing at him until he ran out of steam? That would be a battle of attrition and right now, she couldn't afford that because it took almost everything in her arsenal to simply take those three down, which have now regenerated as if nothing happened. She couldn't admit it was all on luck but she bet it won't work anymore. They would be on-guard more than ever to avoid that.

But why did he say that? She nearly killed him.

Nearly.

 _If only I could figure –_

A fanged worm like appendage lunged at her in surprising speed. Tatsumaki quickly dashed away but it followed her to a point it nearly bit her. To avoid it catching her, the double sliced it off. The appendage fell off and the rest retracted back to the monster's mouth. She doesn't have to bother the appendage to grow to another Sea King as she's now sure there could be only be three of them.

The monster's attack apparently was a ruse. The esper saw one Sea King to her side and he launched a punch. She created a barrier, but as soon as she created one, the other Sea King appeared above her and began to bring both his clenched fists down on her. It didn't land however because her double went in and slashed at the monster to thwart his attack. The created barrier withstood the punch and it gave Tatsumaki some time to get out. She needed to keep the fighting away from the crowd and not be cornered. The appendage earlier was to put her near the crowd and then be slammed from above against the barrier she herself created.

She wasn't the only one who can assess the environment and come up with combos.

Tatsumaki flew away from the two Sea Kings, still wary one was still out there. Indeed, one appeared to grab her out of the air and she evaded it just in the nick of time. Creating some distance again from those monstrosities, Tatsumaki calmed herself as her double went back to her.

Instead of the Sea Kings continuing their pursuit, the two Sea Kings started pounding the barrier on the crowd, eliciting terrified screams from the inside. Tatsumaki never accounted that the monsters would attack the barrier itself thus expending her energy in maintaining it. This was luring her back to confront them head-on.

Raising rumble off the ground, Tatsumaki threw it the monsters to avert their attention. It worked but now she was their target. The double grew brightly green and flew to meet them. Tatsumaki once again thought about the situation while the double met the two Sea Kings in close combat, slicing and slashing continuously to be on par with two Sea Kings rabidly attacking it. It's like two moths being attracted to a flame. It wouldn't attain much since the double was just an immaterial being and the two would heal their wounds.

Tatsumaki has an idea now about the Sea King being a telepath. Mosquito Girl not only uses it to cut the link but also to control her minions. This was what Sea King was doing too: controlling his copies thus their shared sight. The mosquito swarm died off when Mosquito Girl was killed. The other two copies haven't said anything meaning they were dependent to a hive mind like the swarm does to the mosquito monster.

If she could kill the original, the two would die too.

Original. It wasn't that hard to know which is which.

The one who was wearing the crown and was very talkative.

One Sea King suddenly appeared in front her and launched an attack. Since the double was battling two Sea Kings, it didn't have time to defend her. Tatsumaki quickly formed a barrier and the punch landed on it, pushing the esper back. Orbs of energy appeared behind her and encircled around to blast the attacking Sea King. He was bombarded as she flew away from him.

 _This is too much._ Tatsumaki thought, almost desperately. _I can't keep this up. I'm attacking and defending at the same time. Maintaining a double and barrier for the civilians drains much of my stamina. I can only make a duplicate one last time as it would use most of my energy. I need to end this decisively._

Tatsumaki glowed green and the light extended to her left arm to a sharp point as she can't put any stress in her right arm. The double attacking the two Sea Kings vanished out of thin air, much to their surprise. The two monsters regrouped with the other one and the three stood side by side, the crowned one in the middle.

"You're one quick monkey I must say." The Sea King said. "However, I already let one small fry go before so you're out of luck. You'll die here alongside your fellow monkeys. So please have the courtesy to scream while I slaughter you."

The three Sea Kings ran towards the esper. Rubble rose up from the ground to pelt them continuously. The monsters waved them all off by their claws. Halfway, the two Sea Kings on the side dropped on the floor like a stone. Again, the esper created these beings of light and used them to grab each of the Sea King by their feet and they became immobile. The one in the middle flicked his eyes left and right but when he returned his gaze upfront saw the esper flying towards him for a thrust right to his chest.

As quick as the eye could see, the Sea King clasped both his hand on the upcoming esper, flattening her.

"You think you can distract me by immobilizing the others? I can see you, you little –"

His hands suddenly exploded and he staggered back. Due to the explosion he turned around and was struck on the chest by the esper whose left arm shone in bright green like the one with her right arm the first time.

 _I nearly killed you earlier because I nearly grazed your heart when I carved your body,_ Tatsumaki thought. _The other copies won't die in that fashion but perhaps you will._

Tatsumaki, using all her strength, pushed through her attack. He would die this time, she was sure.

Few seconds passed and Tatsumaki wondered why she wasn't making any progress unlike the time she sliced him in half. The light on her left hand grew dim and she noticed she had hit something hard instead of bare flesh.

Armor.

A protective shell-like armor covered the monster's chest and torso. It doesn't look very distinctive and it seemed like it was his chest all along. It was smooth, much like that of crustaceans, but was hard as the strongest steel. This may perhaps be on par with Carnage Kabuto's carapace.

 _This bastard has something like this to –_

One Sea King, free from its restraints, brutally smashed the esper from above to the ground by his clenched fist. Tatsumaki slammed on the ground viciously as it cracked and shook.

 _I need to get up. Need to… get away._

Tatsumaki, blood trailing down her forehead, tried to get up but was scooped up by one Sea King. Suspecting she might blow up again, the monster threw her to the far side of the wall. The esper went towards the wall and went deep in the impact.

Opening her eyes slightly, what greeted her was a big fist coming straight at her. It hit her so strong that the sturdy wall buckled out and she went out of the shelter.

Debris from the shelter spewed out alongside her. Tatsumaki rolled ingloriously on the vast main entrance of the shelter, the cold embrace of the rain hitting her hard.

"I give you props for forcing me to show it." The Sea King with hands now regenerated said, jumping down to get near her.

Tatsumaki, her green glow flickering, feebly tried to use her arms to get up.

"But, to check if you're the real one," Sea King went to her and kicked her on the side. Tatsumaki gasped out blood and she skidded on the wet ground. She lay on her back, the green light around her vanishing. Likewise, the barrier around the civilians went out.

The cold rain numbed her, raindrops pattering her face. Opening her eyes, she saw the Sea King towering beside her.

"You are the real one," continued the Sea King. "As I said, I give you props for forcing me to use this Kraken Shell. You surprised me the first time but it calls for it. In the deep depths of the abyss, the pressure is so great that it's impossible to stay longer without imploding. That is why we sea creatures develop armor, to protect our bodies from such intense pressure." The Sea King tapped his chest. "But you. You managed to make a crack on it. Perhaps if you had focused on me and not protecting your fellow monkeys, you may perhaps crack it a little more. Not only that, you quickly assessed my weak spot by targeting my heart."

The two Sea Kings jumped outside the hole. "I'm having a headache maintaining them this long. I don't need them anymore. What's the fun of someone taking my kill even it is from my other self?" The two Sea Kings melted into a bizarre blue-violet biomass and pooled on the ground. "And it would start with you!"

 _Is…this… it? I can't… feel… anything._

Sea King raised an arm to finish her off but a skidding sound interrupted him.

"JUSTICE CRASH!"

A plain green bicycle crashed on the monster's back, but it felt as if the wind weakly slapped him across the back. As it was, the Sea King turned around, greatly irritated that someone has the courage to interrupt him again.

"Huh?"

"The Cyclist for Justice, Mumen Rider is here!" the owner of the bicycle announced. He was wearing a black suit covering all around his body except from the head up. Brown chest guard with a golden triangle with the letter "M" and matching spaulders were on this black suit. On his legs were black knee guards and on his head was a green bicycle helmet. He was wearing a dark-shaded googles and metal belt with a red buckle. His expression looked very determined, stance ready to fight.

Tatsumaki turned her eyes on this man and recognized him as Class C rank 1, Mumen Rider. Despite being ranked 1 in Class C, Tatsumaki knew he was not stronger than even the lower ranks of Class C. The hero mostly got to his rank because of his undying devotion to patrol the streets. Unlike most Class C heroes that would be satisfied to do at a least one heroic job per week to satisfy their quota and were always waiting for the next big thing or break, this hero would tirelessly scour the streets to help the citizens to the most mundane tasks. It wasn't breaking news incidents but he has grown quite a reputation among the citizens that when they needed help, despite how simple, Mumen Rider was always called to.

Despite all that, he was weak like the average citizen. He has no special abilities, no augmentations, no machineries, no fighting techniques, nor carrying resembling a weapon. He belongs to no group unlike most heroes in Class C associates themselves into. His only known tool was his bicycle, and his tenacious resolve to help out by any means necessary. No help was too small if it can be provided.

But now, all of those could never make a difference.

Without the other Sea Kings in sight and the green dome protecting them, the crowd went near the blasted hole of the shelter that was overlooking the main entrance.

"Mumen Rider came for us." One civilian said.

"But he…"

Mumen Rider ran towards the Sea King and cocked a fist back.

"I'm having a headache so…" The Sea King opened his palm and Mumen Rider's punch landed harmlessly on it. The monster wrapped his fingers around the hero's arm and nonchalantly slammed him on the ground as if he was a ragdoll.

Mumen Rider was slammed for a couple of times until the black covering on his arm ripped out and he was sent flying towards the sky in an arch, landing unceremoniously on his back.

Remembering someone needs to get killed, Sea King looked at the injured esper. "Oh, my apologies. I nearly forgot to kill you." He turned around once more and heard footsteps.

"JUSTICE… TACKLE!"

Mumen Rider tackled the monster but, as all his efforts, was in vain. However, he still tried to push the Sea King away with all his strength and might.

"No one expects much," the hero muttered out.

This showing of defiance was too much. The Sea King's face turned to the beastly image with slit eyes and sharp fangs. With an annoyed grunt, he swiped the hero away from him. The hero landed on his back, bloody and bruised.

"…from me," continued Mumen Rider, trying his best to get up. Tatsumaki couldn't believe he could withstand all those blows, if it can be called.

 _What are you doing?! You're weak! You can't do anything. You're just a C Class! There's no way you can –_

"They think a Class C hero won't be much help." The defiant hero said, trying to get to his feet. Due to his injuries, his forehead dropped down on the ground, but he was still determined to get back up. "I know that better than anyone else!"

 _If you know you're so weak then why –_

"I'm not good enough for Class B. I'm weak. I know that much. No one has to tell me I have no chance of beating you! I already know that!" Mumen Rider screamed at the top of his lungs.

The Sea King, now looking big and monstrous, turned around. "What are you babbling about? Begging for your life? Gone insane?"

 _That's what I would say too._

"And yet, I must try." The hero was now on his feet. He turned to face the monster, raised a fist, and, with pure determination in his voice, exclaimed, "It's not about winning or losing! It's about me taking you on right here, right now! Who else who would have done it if I'm the only help who could help! I just have to stand here and face you! It doesn't matter what the results are as long as I would just give it my all!"

Tatsumaki was surprised at the hero's refusal to back down. Such tenacity, such resolve. His tone wasn't pompous nor out of arrogance. It was almost as if she had heard it from someone else before.

"Tsk. Enough of your rambling." Sea King said. "Time to finish you off." Mumen Rider greeted his teeth, facing what seemed to be his fate.

"You can do it!" a little boy suddenly shouted from the crowd. It was just a small voice but grew louder and louder. "You're the Cyclist of Justice! You can do it! I believe in you! Beat that weird monster, beat him! YOU CAN DO IT!" the boy shouted, tears streaming down his cheeks.

The other civilians heard this encouragement and joined in, putting all their hopes and cheers to the last hero standing.

"You can do it!"

"Beat the monster!"

"We are counting on you!"

"Good luck! I'm your biggest fan!"

"Mumen Rider! Do your best!"

Hearing the crowd cheering him on and without regards of his injuries, Mumen Rider pumped his fist together in a show of renewed energy. With a triumphal cry, he launched a punch to the monster, venturing all their hopes and faith in the fortune of a single blow.

What met him was a fist blasting him away for several meters. The cheering instantly stopped as the Sea King grinned in amusement.

"I think not!" The Sea King said with humor in his tone. "Now where's that little kid who shouted earlier?" He turned towards the crowd and continued, "You monkeys don't know when to shut up when commanded. Now, you don't have anyone to protect you from this." He coughed up a ball of acid and spews it towards the little boy. The boy's mother carrying him turned around and tried to shield him away as some civilians backed away.

However, the acid ball suddenly stopped above them as if time stood still. The citizens and the Sea King stared at the acid ball in surprise. Much the same the first time, it quickly went back to the Sea King's face and he staggered back, his face severely burned.

"ARGGHH!" the monster cried out, thrashing his arms around. Debris from the shelter itself pooled on him and he was quickly covered and pinned to the ground. The Sea King blinked hard and craned his neck. "YOU!"

The esper was raising her left arm, which was now without sleeves. She was glowing faintly green and was weakly on her feet, crouched low and drenched by the rain.

"If he did his best, then there's no reason I can't do mine too!" the esper exclaimed. She had managed to slow down the descent of Mumen Rider's fall and had gently put him down on the ground. The fall could have killed him with all his injury, but that's the only thing she could do for him for buying her time. "Everyone! Get out of here! I'll… hold him off." It was getting harder and harder to speak and it only made her cough which made her taste blood whenever she does.

The rubble of mountain trembled and Tatsumaki tried to hold it. Despite hearing the esper's words, the crowd lost hope. Where would they go? They would still be hunted down by the monster even to the ends of the earth. The monster could split again and kill them all simultaneously like he planned earlier.

The Sea King slowly took out the rocks around him.

At last, the Sea King removed the obstacles and was now towering over Tatsumaki. Tatsumaki collapsed on her knees, her sleeveless arms limp and totally powerless.

"You've been a nuisance for the last time." The Sea King said, eyes brimming with anger.

 _It's no use. I have no more energy left._

 _I didn't even save anyone._

 _I'm so weak._

Maybe it was because of the cold but she felt strangely calm in the face of death, even managing a small smile.

 _I…_

 _I haven't even told him yet._

"DIE!" The Sea King unleashed a flurry of attacks that pulverized the ground by its intensity. That green monkey would be a stain on the ground and on his knuckles after he was done.

The dust slowly settled and Sea King looked at his knuckles.

But he didn't see any blood stains. The ground too has no traces of the monkey anywhere.

"This is the second time you've left me in the dark."

 _I know that voice. Wait. I'm… still alive?_

"And I thought you said I should be the one who should have been called in times like this."

Tatsumaki slowly opened her dreary eyes and saw the yellow suit of her tormentor, her mentor.

And knight.

"But you did fine. Nice fight."

The man put her down and leaned her against the wall of the huge hole where the crowd was. Tatsumaki noticed that Saitama had put the unconscious Mumen Rider on the adjacent wall.

"Your… timing… sucks." The esper managed to mutter out. She coughed a few times and leaned on the wall, can't bear to say any more words or even spit the blood out her mouth.

"At least you could have thanked me." Saitama replied.

 _I would, if I could._

"Anyway," said Saitama, turning towards the crowd. "Take care of these two. I don't want them dying on me. Now then." The bald hero jumped out of the hole and went back outside.

Looking around, he asked, "Wait. Where's that Seafreak or whatever it's called?"

"OVER HERE!" The massive Sea King appeared behind Saitama and punched him at the back of his head. The punch was so strong that the shockwave repelled the rain away for a moment. Despite that, the attack didn't leave any mark on Saitama's bald head. His head only bobbled like the attack was nothing.

"Impressive." Sea King said, steam coming out from his nostrils. "You're still on your feet after one of my punches. Clearly you're like that trash who I toyed earlier. But even so, she got injured but you're not."

"Huh?" Saitama said, turning around. "What are you saying? Your punch was too weak, that's all. Not a good reason to be hurt with that."

One of the watching civilians asked, "Hey, who is that? Is he a hero?"

"That head. I remember it from the Hero registry and to some news."

"I know him too! He's a Class C rookie!"

"I think he's Rank 2."

 _Rank 2, huh? So he does try to raise his rank by himself._

"But Class C rank 2? If the rank 1 didn't do anything, what about this rank 2? So we're gonna get killed after all."

Tatsumaki became angry. She knew now that ranking doesn't mean much. But she was happy somewhat. Now the people would see how strong he really is.

"But that punch didn't hurt him at all! And I read from the news that he's the one who smashed the meteor in City Z alongside the Class S heroes."

"That's your imagination. Besides, he smashed the meteor alongside S Class heroes. Isn't that a bit fishy if he's the only C Class who helped them? Now, you saw how many heroes were blown away by that thing's punches right? This is just impossible."

Tatsumaki would have shouted for their stupid assumptions, but in her state she could only hold it in. Action speaks louder than words and they were about to see it firsthand.

Back outside, the Sea King said to Saitama, "To make it known to you so that you won't forget my name, I am the King of the Deeps, Lord of the Seas, the Sea King. All life on Earth comes from the sea, as if she were our mother. In other words, as ruler of the seas, I am the pinnacle of a pyramid that includes every living organism on this world! I evolved what Mother Nature originally planned for us living beings. We didn't go to shore to devolve into little monkeys incapable to scour the whole sea that covered most of this Earth. It's only fitting that the sea covered most of the landmass as we're more superior. I have grown to regenerate faster and more efficient than anyone else and I have armor that could protect against the strongest of attacks." He tapped his chest. "My heart here is impervious as long as it is in this armor so there's no chance you would win. That means to defy me is to –

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Saitama cut in, cleaning his ear from listening too long. "It's raining and it's cold. Could you skip it all so we could do this?"

So pent up with such insolence these bipedal monkeys could do and say whereas they're so pathetically inferior and nothing more than food, Sea King launched the most powerful punch he could muster up to this point. The bald monkey wouldn't even see it coming.

The Sea King felt a shockwave so great than the last one that the rain itself stopped from pouring, clouds above parted. However, his fist was still halfway from reaching its target and realized this attack was from this bald monkey. Looking down, the place where his heart would have been now show a massive hole, bits and pieces of his impregnable armor pulverized from the attack.

Without the central organ which was integral to his very well-being and regeneration, the Sea King dropped to the ground, pooling on his own blue blood, his crown rolling on the street like a discarded tire.

The crowd, watching all this unfolding, held their breaths to this sudden turn of events. Tatsumaki in particular had seen this before. No matter how many times she had seen this, it never fails to get old.

Dumbfounded cheers exploded from the crowd. Some hugged one another and some raised their fists in triumph. The stress and anxiety they put through was finally lifted. The rain stopped that may perhaps a good sign that the bad things has ended.

Saitama, though, stared at the lifeless monster very disappointed. For its entire monologue, it died faster than its harangue.

 _Well, that was lame,_ Saitama thought. _I kinda had my hopes up with all the hype he's building up._

The crowd couldn't stop cheering. They had never seen such a feat done by the many heroes who faced the monster.

"Is he really a C Class?!"

"He just took out the monster by one punch! One punch!"

"He's too freaking strong!"

Tatsumaki wouldn't admit this but she too was relieved that he can finally have his credit. Certainly from up this close and with many witnesses, they could not possibly mistake him as someone he's not unlike what happened in City Z. They were all speculations. But now, they have concrete evidence right in their faces. He can finally take what was due to him for so long.

Until one citizen decided to talk differently among the rest.

"Or maybe…" a voice dripping with sarcasm drawled, "the monster wasn't really that tough?" the crowd turned their heads towards this man. The stout man was wearing a checkered long sleeved green polo with a black shirt underneath. He sported a bowl haircut, eye bags under his eyes, a flat nose and thick lips. By simply from his pose, he was smug and opinionated suited for his total lack of charm and looks. He didn't cheer alongside the crowd but rather looked like he knew everything by simply watching from the sidelines.

"Yeah, but so many heroes went down." A man answered and the others nodded.

"That just means those heroes were weaklings." The bowl haircut man dismissed. "After all, a Class C hero took it out with a single punch! What's that say about the heroes the monster beat senselessly? They may call themselves Class A or Class S, but their titles don't mean jack shit if they would go down like pathetic heroes who couldn't do anything. Are they even heroes in the first place?" He then laughed, couldn't contain the irony he was spewing out.

"Hey, enough of that! They risked their lives for us."

"Risked their lives? Anyone can do that. Isn't a hero's job to beat up monsters and not be fodder? It all ended well this time, so whatever. But it's annoying when heroes who really are just average Joes show up and try to save you. If that is the case, we might as well save ourselves. If you ask me, a hero should be the one who would heroically show up and beat –"

Angered by the lack of respect shown, a man grabbed the insolent fat man's shirt. "Shut your freaking mouth or I would make you!"

"Why are you getting mad at me? The Hero Association gets their funds from our donations, right? They should get out of their asses and put that money to good use and protect us. As long as we're paying them, they should do their jobs, right? The fact of the matter is that bald guy pretty much took care of it by himself so all the other heroes died for nothing. Besides, I've been watching my idol Mr. Sweet Mask being interviewed about what's being a hero on my cellphone during this whole fiasco. One should have the speed, grace and brilliance if you want to be a hero. If these heroes couldn't do anything, they should just quit. Again, why call them heroes in the first place if they couldn't do anything heroic? You tell me: if I'm wrong, that just means you're saying Mr. Sweet Mask is wrong too."

The man's words spread across the crowd like wildfire. The crowd looked at each other and they murmured, pondering the man's words. The man who was holding his shirt up slowly let off his grip as realization sink in.

Tatsumaki could not believe this. By one man's opinion, he overturned the whole crowd to his side. Not only that, no one dared to stand up against him and challenge his laid out points. Popularity seemed to be the barometer of rightness now given Sweet Mask's influence to the masses.

But what horrified her most was that the man almost mirrored her regarding their views to "pathetic and weakling heroes". Given how she was always sick with the Blizzard Group's antics and heroes in general, that's what she would have probably said too: for them to quit and stop acting like heroes if they were all this pathetic.

Why… why are they even heroes in the first place?

Why… why do they even bother?

Why… why didn't they just quit if they're this pathetic?

Tatsumaki gritted her teeth, rage slowly building up within.

She was angry. To anyone who thinks like that. And to herself.

 _I almost died saving these people. I gave everything, risked everything._

 _Now I'm on the receiving end because I'm not the last hero standing._

Tatsumaki slowly tried to lift up her head, anger fueling her and intent to pop that fat man's head like a zit, the pain and consequences be damned despite she's definitely ran out of energy.

Laughter slowly echoed outside that got louder and louder. The crowd looked outside, curious. The bald man was laughing hysterically or rather contrived and forced.

"Today's my lucky day!" Saitama exclaimed. "The other heroes wore the monster down, so beating it was child's play! The monster's armor was already cracked so I just punched at it. Lucky for me, he himself pointed it out to me where to hit him, and I did. Isn't this my lucky day?"

A silent gasp came out from Tatsumaki.

"Good thing I was late. I barely did a thing and now I get all the credit." Saitama turned around and shouted at the crowd. "Hey, spread the word, all of you! I'm the one who finished the monster off! I'll beat the snot out of anyone who says it's only because I got here late!"

"What did he mean?" asked by one of the crowd.

"The monster was already weak?"

"The monster's armor already cracked?"

"Hang on a sec. That's Saitama!" a man recognized.

"Saitama?"

"He's the hero from City Z that everyone calls a cheat."

"Seriously? A cheat?"

"He appeared out of nowhere and climbed the ranks super-fast. I find that very suspicious. Some from City Z said that he cheated in the exams itself."

 _He didn't cheat. He got up the ranks with nobody's help. And what are you doing?! It's all on you! You lying bald bastard! Don't cover this up because of me!_

"Hey, you guys!" continued Saitama, getting the crowds' attention once more. "Look after the fallen heroes, okay? Especially the two I brought there earlier. If they die on me, how am I gonna cash in on their work?"

"He IS a cheat!"

"Man, that's not fair."

"Wait. So he's just here to take the credit?"

"Told you the monster is already weak."

"Compared to him, the other heroes seem a little more heroic for whittling the monster down to a single punch. They also bought some time for us. Where would we be now if the other heroes hadn't fought this hard? It was their combined effort that brought the monster down, not just this man."

"Yeah, I feel so grateful to them all."

Tatsumaki stared at Saitama gazing at the bright sky.

 _So this isn't just for me. It's for all the other heroes who went against the monster despite the odds. If this is what you really want, sacrificing your face for theirs, I won't interfere. You always say the stupidest things sometimes that surprise me and change the way how I look at you. But if you're in this position again, I won't guarantee I can control myself like today._

The drenched but perfectly uninjured caped baldy walked away and picked up the Sea King's crown. "Goodie." Saitama said with a smile. "I think I can pawn this off for this month's rent. This is really my lucky day." He left, the crown by his waist, and he disappeared from view.

Tatsumaki hung her head low. For a very little, very miniscule and very microscopic tiny reason, she wished that he could have gone back to get her. The crowd was mad at him at this point so maybe he knew that and didn't go back.

"Someone! Get the first aid in the infirmary! We have other heroes here who are gravely injured!"

"Allback Man is up there! Careful everyone! Let's bring him down safe and sound!"

"Where's the Class A hero Snek? We should search for him! Come on!"

"Easy now. Where are his other parts? He's still breathing despite without his robotic legs. Should we call an engineer or a medic in his case?"

The crowd got busy in their jobs to secure the well-being of the wounded heroes. Tatsumaki simply hung her head low, couldn't bear to be manhandled by these people. This was Saitama was planning. If he left these people thinking like that person, they'll probably left them and turn a blind eye. The crowd now acted in unison to take care of the heroes unfortunate enough to get injured and their credit taken away by someone who was late. It's the least they could do.

There were a set of legs Tatsumaki noticed in front of her and she looked up.

At first glance, she really thought it was Fubuki, though still a child. Her vision cleared and she saw the girl from before, the one who encouraged her earlier. The girl has shoulder length hazel colored hair and matching eyes. She wore a striped sleeveless shirt and blue skirt. Her dad was on her side and she was carrying a stuffed rabbit in her hand. Tatsumaki couldn't help but imagine it was really her sister since the two looked strangely similar.

"Big sister," said the little girl, "even if the bald man defeated the monster, I know you're my hero."

The father bowed. "Thank you saving my daughter earlier. I… I don't know how I can repay you." The little girl crouched low and handed Tatsumaki her stuffed rabbit, much to her surprise and the father.

"So here," The girl said. "He is my favorite toy and I'm sure you'll be able to protect him more than I do. Thank you again, big sister."

"Let's go, darling." The father motioned to his daughter. "The medics are on their way and she needed time to rest. Thank you again for all you've done." The two walked away and the girl looked back after a few paces away.

"I'll write you a thank-you letter once we get home! I'll tell my friends you're a real hero! Goodbye, big sister!"

Tatsumaki was left alone with the stuffed rabbit which she didn't ask for. But to be honest with herself, she was touched by the gesture. It reminded her of her time when she and her sister was in the laboratory to be tested upon.

Since she has more psychic potential, she would be asked, whether she liked it or not, to exert energy as much as possible while the scientist would map out her brain as to know where her psychic powers were coming from. Fubuki can't last long and so she's just there to compare Tatsumaki's result from hers. To avoid Tatsumaki from using her powers against them, she was fitted with a bulky and heavy helmet like device on her head to restrict her powers. Fubuki only has a light device, almost like a hairband, to restrain hers. The devices would send electrical charges if they disobeyed.

Their only respite was when they were eating in the cafeteria together. Tatsumaki was always tired, not on just carrying such a heavy device every time, but on the experiments. Fubuki knew she couldn't do anything to relieve her sister's pain and so sneak out her dessert and gave it to her sister.

It was slices of apples. That was why she grew a fondness for apples, no matter the form. Fubuki would also say encouraging words to her that things could get better. Retelling the stories in their old home, the times they shared with their parents, the times when Tatsumaki would harmlessly and playfully trick their maids by using her powers that would make Fubuki laugh despite scolding her sister not to do it.

Not much but that's all she could do.

It was simple, but Tatsumaki treasured it and it gave her reason to keep on going.

Tatsumaki wrapped an arm around the stuffed toy and pulled it closer to her, resting her head on it like it was a pillow.

For some reason, she could taste something faintly of salt instead of the metal taste lingering in her mouth. It continued to taste like that.

Perhaps it was because of the rain.

Perhaps they were close to the sea.

Perhaps.

The medics arrived and Tatsumaki was put on a stretcher, still holding the stuffed toy around her arm. No one would pry this out from her even if she won't be treated.

x-x-x

Hospitals.

How Tatsumaki hated hospitals.

It was 2 days after the incident but Tatsumaki was itching to get out of here. The Hero Association has a special recovery ward for Class S heroes. It was a massive private room, complete with a lobby, a recreation center with entertainment devices, huge curving LCD TV on a wall, a stock full refrigerator and kitchenette, and has its own bathroom that were quite extravagant. It was like a hotel and Tatsumaki assumed they were making it out to be so the patient could recover faster and feel at home.

But to her, it was like celebrating a birthday party in a cemetery. It was moot if the patients can't use these amenities if they're injured themselves, much like a corpse has any use for fabulous mausoleums on top of them. Hospitals are hospitals. People died there. It's a place that despite the effort to make it lively the solemnity still hung around. The eerie sterility and the sight of patients having their lives hanging by a thread and life support machines wasn't a good sight.

Her laptop that could have save her the boredom was "accidentally" destroyed before. It suddenly blew up, she said. And so, she requested for a new one and the Hero Association provided her which they have sent to her apartment instead of the hospital she was recovering in.

The only thing Tatsumaki got busy were the gifts and letters she was sent due to her actions during the Sea Folk Invasion, as some media would call it. The letters were mostly half-baked thank-yous, and some didn't even bother to write it personally, just leaving the card with its generic "thank you "as is.

But what Tatsumaki found interesting were the letters sent by children. They have crude drawings of her with a swirl of green on her head. Their penmanship was quite messy but it was with effort and pure intentions. With few words of thanks scribbled, she could feel genuine appreciation and innocence from these kids.

Funny that. She was more popular to children than to grown-ups. Maybe because of what she looked like that made her appeal to children more. Her stuffed rabbit was on a desk along with other stuffed toys, looking forlorn in a cute way.

While separating and scrounging the letters on her queen size bed using her powers, Tatsumaki heard from a speaker reminder her that someone would visit her if it's alright with her. The receptionist had hesitated because this man has a bad reputation of being a hero, but nevertheless brought it up. It's a bald man carrying a plastic bag and he said he dropped by just to visit her.

Tatsumaki couldn't care what they thought of him. She answered it was fine with her. The receptionist left with a few words and the line was cut.

Waiting on her too comfortable queen size bed and wrapped around with bandages on her head and arms, Tatsumaki somehow felt giddy mixed with anxiety for good measure.

Visiting her while she's like this? It made her feel rather miserable.

But she was glad someone visited her, even by just one.

The door opened and a bald man entered wearing his trademark "OPPAI" hoodie, a plastic bag in one hand. If Tatsumaki didn't know him or know better, she would personally throw him out.

"Woah," Saitama breathed out, looking around the room. "This is a hospital, isn't it?"

"Are you here to marvel the room or visit me?" Tatsumaki asked.

"Oh, hey there." Saitama said, walking to her with a wave of his hand. Tatsumaki was now considering throwing him out. "I came to visit because the Hero Association called me to go to their HQ from this letter they sent this morning. I thought I should drop by here first."

"Called you? For what?" the esper asked.

"I don't know." Saitama answered, showing the letter. "Fire me or something, I guess."

"That's ridiculous." Tatsumaki scoffed. Without preamble, she telekinetically pulled the letter from Saitama and read it.

"It just says here you're now a Class C rank 1." Tatsumaki explained. "Attaining the highest rank in a class means you have the option to change class, although you'll start at the bottom of that class. You can advance to Class B or just stay in the top of Class C. If you do decide to change class, you don't need to do that weekly quota as you're now a Class B hero."

"Woah, seriously?" Saitama said. "That's cool. I think I'll change class. Can't keep being in C Class forever. That weekly quota is killing me."

"Is that so?" Tatsumaki handed the letter back to him. "Well, congratulations. You've earned it."

"Oh, which reminds me," Saitama put a hand inside his plastic bag and brought out… a bunch of bananas. "There's a sale so this is for you." He put the aforementioned fruit on a bedside table and took one out for himself. He was about to peel it when it flew away from him, the fruit glowing in a green glow.

Tatsumaki stared at Saitama quite intensely. The fruit peeled itself and went back to his hand.

"Oh, thanks." Saitama said and he took a bite, staring at the ripped out envelopes and the gifts on the bed. "You sure have a lot of fans; with all these letters and gifts they gave you."

"It's nothing." Tatsumaki waived off. "Did someone write you a letter too?"

"Oh. That…" Saitama trailed off. "A few. Some not really nice. There is one that's not even finished."

"I see." Tatsumaki was still not over the incident but she decided not to bring the subject up. She now knew what kind of a person he is despite him getting hate mails.

"So when are you getting out of here?" Saitama then asked. "This place looks fine, though."

"I'll get out of here once I get the opportunity." Tatsumaki answered. "It may sound weird but I recover from injuries very fast." It may perhaps the result of the experiments done on her. The scientists didn't want her to accidentally die and so she recovers in a matter of days as long as it's not a fatal injury. She's still human, anyway.

"That's good to hear. Well, I'll be off now. The receptionist said that I can only visit for a few minutes or else they'll call security. See you later." Tatsumaki was surprised and didn't expect he would leave so soon.

Saitama walked away and before he reached for the door, Tatsumaki spoke. "Saitama?"

The bald man turned around. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say that I –" Tatsumaki looked away, slightly blushing.

Saitama simply waited, confused.

Tatsumaki slowly returned her gaze. "Can… can we do the training every few days instead of every week? I think it's better if I train that way."

"Oh, is that it? Sure. If you're healthy, we can train right away. I don't have that weekly quota anymore so it's fine. Just don't push yourself too hard when we're training."

"Uh, okay. See you later then. And thanks for the bananas." Tatsumaki added.

"Don't mention it. Well, goodbye. Get well soon." Saitama said and he left.

Once Saitama left, Tatsumaki buried her face on her palms.

 _Thanks for the bananas? I should have thanked him for saving my life once again._

Her mind went back to the conversation before Saitama left.

What was she trying to tell to him earlier?

What was she _really_ trying to tell?

Anyway, she was going to tell to him that she should train more often. But there was this thought when she was about to die.

Shrugging her head, Tatsumaki pushed the thoughts away. She might die of embarrassment if she really went through it. It's too soon, she thought.

Right now, she just has to rest so she can train again with Saitama. She can't stay bedridden forever.

Her emerald eyes fell upon the bananas on the bedside table. Not her choice of fruit but it would have to do. Using her powers, she took one, peeled it and took a bite.

And to her, a banana had never tasted so sweet.

* * *

 **Author's Corner: WOAH! An update! I keep breaking my word count with this story! Told you it was unbearably long if I just made it a single chapter for this arc. It also took this long because I corrected the previous chapters. I re-read the whole story and cringed at my poor writing. Thanks for "The One Who Reads Too Much" for always reminding me. Despite all that, I bet there're still many errors up there. XD**

 **That is it with the Sea Folk arc! It turned out to be the same with canon but I do try to make it different enough. I hope it didn't look forced. And… asspulls everywhere! The Sea King has another up his sleeves with that armor, but I do find it sensible if he's living deep underwater. Not that it means to Saitama much.**

 **The next arc would be you-know-what. That just means we're already finished! I do enjoy writing this down despite how many times I would re-watch an episode. It's already in my mind how it would go but I needed some fact checking to make sure.**

 **Speaking of fact checking, I found out Tatsumaki likes apple candies during festivals. It's quite a strange coincidence with this story and canon. Saitama seemed to have a liking to bananas so I wrote Tatsumaki liking apples. Well, what do you know, it is canon material now!**

 **As we are close to the holidays or whatever you prefer to call it, I may not update this until this year is over, and even then I can't guarantee I may update quickly once the New Year comes. Its busy season, people, and I wrote this early so I won't be bog down when it comes. I know some people have been waiting for it, especially with that cliffhanger from the previous chapter. I do hope some understand that. So a small or lengthy review would be a nifty gift for me. You can also send me a big bag of cash if that's easier ;b**

 **Anyway, enough of my long author's note and any reviews are always appreciated! This story continues to grow favorites/follow that it still blows my mind.**

 **See you in the next chapter! Happy Holidays!**


	15. The Class S Meeting

**Author's Note: Huge info dump ahead. Take this exposition armor and good luck to you!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: The Class S Meeting**

Atop the mountains of High Peaks was a dojo renowned as the origin of one of the most formidable martial arts in existence. It crashes and it flows and strikes in gentle and yet deadly efficiency. It utilizes the most effective way in bringing down a target: to strike at its weakest spot thus accomplishing the deed with minimum time and effort. Emphasizing on fluid and calm movements to exert less energy, it quickly lashes out to bring down hardened targets to the ground when they least expect it. Prediction through the subtle muscle movements to counter with deadly efficiency of minimal effort was what elevated the Fist of Flowing Water Crushing Rock among the rest. It was feared among the martial arts world that very few people mastered its use.

All of these simply flew above Saitama's head as he listened, and now was watching the master of the art, Bang, perform the aforementioned martial art in front of him with undisclosed expression like a man duped in a pyramid scheme. Tatsumaki, who was floating beside him, too felt like being scammed and was embarrassed to death how she misunderstood Bang's invitation.

Shortly after Saitama left the hospital, Bang visited Tatsumaki to check up on her as a fellow Class S. He had, in his words, "accidentally" overheard their conversation of training and had invited them that they could train in his dojo. Tatsumaki was hesitant at first but she thought that training in a barren wasteland wasn't always a good scenic environment to train and had agreed., Plus, it would be high up in the mountains and still be very secluded. She had relayed it to Saitama the day of her recovery and training (making sure she was not asking him out in any degree) to make it up for him for always leaving him behind. Saitama agreed to train in a dojo since he hasn't been into one.

And there they were, "training" in a manner Tatsumaki didn't have in mind.

Bang finished his stance and relaxed. "It goes something like that". He looked at the two newcomers, "Want to try? You both look like quick learners. I bet you'll get the hang of it in no time."

"This is the reason why we came here?" Saitama asked, almost in a whine. "A sales pitch? This isn't what I expected in a dojo though." He looked at Tatsumaki and continued, "Tatsumaki, he asked you to train so why not give it a go."

"I'll pass," answered Tatsumaki. "I already saw this once so I don't have time for some martial arts or self-defense or whatever. I train what I'm already good at and that's my psychic powers. Besides, I already have a much more effective training." Tatsumaki waited for Saitama to respond but didn't get any. She swore it's better to insult him instead to fish a reaction out of him.

The reaction she was expecting came out from a man who was also in the room. The man has a messy light brown hair and was wearing a white karate gi and belt indicating his low status as a student of the dojo. "You punks!" the man roared. "You two dare insult and waive off our fighting style?! I, Charanko, the top disciple, challenge you!" He lunged forward and was quickly stopped in his tracks as he floated up, his arms and legs trashing around like being choked by some unseen force.

"I-I give up." Charanko breathed out and was subsequently dropped to the ground due to gravity.

"Is this really your top disciple?" Tatsumaki asked Bang with some incredulity in her tone.

"…Yeah." Bang lamely admitted.

"I thought this dojo has been here for years as you flaunted it out to be." Tatsumaki said. "For a man of your caliber I thought you would have more students here, well, skilled ones at least."

"One of my disciples went wild," said Bang, turning away. "He beat my most skilled students so badly they're out of commission. The rest got scared and quit - just like that. Charanko is the only one here who remained."

"He's that strong?" Saitama said, getting interested of hearing someone beating someone up. "What's his name?"

Bang sighed heavily and muttered a single word. "Garou." The sound of the name still brings up so many memories. The once enthusiastic young man had turned into an image of bloodlust and rage. The man had so much promise and talent, easily a rare prodigy of the martial arts world. He was very eager to learn at first but quickly felt dissatisfied with his progress that he took matters to his own hands. Bang couldn't let him go unchecked despite the student showed a brilliant potential to everything he took interest in. Bang perfected his art for so many decades but this young man mastered it in a couple of years, and decided to use it against fellow students out of sheer boredom. It was a self-defense art and not made to attack an innocent person. That crossed the line, talent and all, and Bang finally took action.

"He was my top disciple at the time, but I gave him a good beating and expelled him." Bang knew there's still much more behind those few words but kept it discreet. There's no need burying up what's already transpired.

Such a waste of brilliance, of youth.

"If that's the case, you must still pack a punch for an old man." Saitama remarked.

"Hey!" Charanko cut in for the defense of his master. "This is the famed hero "Silverfang!" Class S hero, rank 3. He toys with opponents as he flows like water, then delivers a blow like a raging river smashing huge rocks! A master of martial arts!" Charanko harrumphed and pointed a finger at Saitama. "You only became a hero recently, right? So how could you possibly understand how strong master is? You're not even worthy of his attention even by a little!"

"Hmph!" Tatsumaki cut in for the defense of her... mentor. "I'm surprised you're able to stand up after earlier. And who are you to say things like that in his face? For such a little twerp, you sure are loud!"

"Little… twerp?" Charanko recoiled. "Look at yourself, you little –"

"I DARE YOU TO FINISH THAT SENTENCE! I DOUBLE DARE YOU!"

"Enough, Charanko." Bang chided. The two students quieted down and Saitama was relieved he didn't have to pacify Tatsumaki on his part. "Do not disgrace us. Despite being relatively new, Saitama here is many times stronger than me. "

"Master, you can't be serious…" Charanko responded in disbelief.

"You hear that?" Tatsumaki said with a smirk. "Listen to your master and shut your trap, you little twerp." Before Charanko could utter a sentence that would result to the detriment of his health and well-being, the door slid open and a man in a suit and looking very ragged and exhausted appeared out of the opening.

"Mr. Silverfang!" announced the recently arrived suited man. "The Association sent me! An emergency summons has been issued to all Class S heroes! Please come to Association Headquarters immediately. Is - Is that you too, Ms. Tatsumaki? Your phone isn't responding for whatever reason but it's very fortunate you're here. Since all Class S heroes have been summoned, please come too! This is very urgent!" Tatsumaki rolled her eyes. She intentionally left her phone at the apartment since she doesn't want anyone bothering her while training. Bang had never opted in using any gadgets whatsoever since he preferred the simple way of life back then. Technology seemed to elude his understanding for some reason. For him to get a message, someone has to run the full flight of stairs just to contact him.

"This is like that meteor incident last time." Tatsumaki said.

Bang sighed, resigned. "Here we go. Charanko, look after the dojo while I'm away."

"Of course, Master! And be careful!" Charanko enthusiastically answered.

"If this is like the last time," said Tatsumaki, "they may need your help too, Saitama. I don't want to have you complaining again for leaving you behind."

"Is it okay?" Saitama asked. "The man said it's only for Class S. I'm just a Class B."

"Bang and I can vouch for you to come along." Tatsumaki answered. "I don't think the Association would mind that much given Bang and I agreed."

"I'll tag along then since I got nothing to do." Saitama said, his eyes turning sharp.

 _Since when are you doing something?_ Tatsumaki thought.

x-x-x

The Hero Association's main headquarters was in City A, as to be expected for a city to be the most affluent. The headquarters was a black obelisk of a building that towered over other buildings. Its sheer size easily imposed the skyline that one could not guess it's the bastion of heroes for its very dark color. Unlike in City Z branch that was very understaffed, this one was buzzing in activity. Employees entering in and out, apprehended villains being transported for their trial, citizens filing complaints against some heroes' penchant for unnecessary collateral damage, and other activities such as threat assessments that merited attention.

After the security protocol, the trio, Bang, Tatsumaki and Saitama, was led to a heavy metallic door reserved for conferences. Saitama was initially halted as he was in Class B to enter a Class S meeting. But Tatsumaki's death glare had gotten her point across and they all shut up once she levitated random things around. Bang, ever the calm eye of the storm, told them he gave the man permission. Him being rank 3 in Class S was more than enough to let Saitama in. There were no more objections.

The metallic door opened and the three entered inside. What they first saw in the corridor was a man with his back facing them. He has a long black hair tied in a topknot and was sporting a goatie. A red cape with a symbol of an atom was draped over his opened black haori and underneath was a loose fitting white robe and a sash at the waist that strapped two of his katanas, one of which has an atomic symbol as a disc guard. A blade of grass sticking out from his mouth that almost acted as a cigarette.

When the heavy door closed, the man turned around and greeted Bang. "Oh ho, Silverfang!" greeted the grizzled swordsman.

"It's been a while, Atomic Samurai." Bang greeted back.

"I knew you'd come." Atomic Samurai paused when he looked at Saitama. "And who might this be?"

"This is the Class B hero Saitama." Bang introduced. "His exceptional talent will one day place him atop Class S so we asked him to come along."

 _Atop of Class S? That's quite a compliment,_ Tatsumaki thought.

"Hi there, middle-aged hero dude!" Saitama cheerfully greeted. "Put 'er there!" He raised a hand for a handshake but to his surprise, the samurai slapped it away. When Tatsumaki saw it, she felt she had been slapped right across the cheek.

"No handshakes," refused Atomic Samurai. "I acknowledge only the strong. Once you've climbed up to Class S, I'll take that handshake. Until then, hold that off for now." Tatsumaki suddenly went between the two and glared at the samurai as dreadfully as she could that also passed as borderline cute.

"I don't care who you are but listen here, you old geezer!" Tatsumaki said, pointing a finger at Atomic Samurai.

"What?" Bang suddenly replied.

"Not you, gramps!"

"Hmm. You should be the new hero, Tatsumaki." Atomic Samurai said. "I've heard you've been placed in Class S right from the start. That means you have already outranked my three students. But even so, you need to climb the ranks first to gain my attention. Your accomplishments are way too few for me to notice. You must still prove yourself without anyone's help." He turned around and walked away. "And by the way, I'm not middle-aged or an old geezer yet. I'm only 37."

 _Not with that face you are!_ Tatsumaki angrily thought in a scowl.

"Forget about that, Tatsumaki." Saitama said. "Let's get going." Tatsumaki was still fuming but the two were already walking ahead so she has no choice but to follow and leave her tantrums behind.

x-x-x

The three heroes went inside the conference room. The other Class S heroes were also there and to Tatsumaki, it was the most motley crew she had laid eyes upon. The Class S sported a lot range of different styles and garb of all occasions and flavors. Thankfully, they mostly kept to themselves and didn't engage any conversation to anyone. The collection of Class S heroes in one room made the tension palpable in the air and they looked like they've been dragged here against their will. They're the Class S, humanity's strongest heroes, who were also a bit anti-social and proud for their own good.

The heroes sat beside a rectangular table with a glowing LCD screen that showed vague charts and graphs. The chairs can be adjusted and comfortable enough to a point of tolerable. Tatsumaki would be damned if someone presented her a booster seat or a chair stacked with yellow pages. Interestingly enough, the heroes sat in the order of their rank starting from Saitama's left who was sitting at the head of the table. Tatsumaki, on the other hand, just sat beside Saitama, not one to follow a bizarre coincidence or an OCD's order of things.

To Saitama's left was a convict in prisoner clothes, Puri-puri Prisoner, rank 16. He was a big of a man with a cleft chin, large lips and a black bushy hair. From what Tatsumaki knew of this person, he was somewhat of a flamboyant in his actions. An open homosexual, Puri-puri Prisoner has a habit of taking an "interest" to anyone good looking to his eyes, may they be heroes or criminals. That eventually landed him in the most brutal section of the prison. Despite the lawlessness of its environment, Puri-puri Prisoner imposed his will against these degenerates and established a strange and bizarre order that kept the unruliest prisoner to obey him. Puri-puri Prisoner retained his rank as a hero as long as he kept the prison in order and only target criminals for his fancy, by any means necessary. His skill is not a laughing matter either. He could still walk normally despite a big ball of chain attached to his leg.

The hero next to Tatsumaki's rank was a young man in a pompadour hair style wearing a red turtle neck and black hakama pants. Both his feet were slouched over the table in display of a "devil-may-care" attitude. A slick metal bat was on his side and he beats monsters with his bat in the most upfront of method: Bashing enemies to a pulp with his indestructible weapon. Metal Bat, or so what others called him, was rank 14, a delinquent in school and notorious for his rough talking even among his fellow Class S.

The one to Metal Bat's left was the master of the Tanktop Army, Tanktop Master, rank 13. Being the top Tanktop, he's also wearing their patented tanktop. He has a short dark blonde hair, long pants, and a belt with his initials engraved in the center. He's muscular like that of Puri-puri Prisoner but has a meek expression. Tatsumaki had met some of his kind before but she knew he was different from those people. Unlike his braggart "bros" in the Tanktop army, he was humble and carried a lot of self-control in his actions.

Next was a man with some very feminine features. Long blonde hair, sharp blue eyes, hairpins shaped in an eight-pointed star on his temples and a white cape loosely around his neck. Flashy Flash, rank 12, was the fastest hero in the Association's rank. If the name's redundancy wasn't obvious enough, he moves faster than the eye could see. His serious nature brought forth an aura of stern calculation, like a hawk staring at its prey. Tatsumaki barely knew about his skills but his name gave it away.

The rank 11 was pretty much a strange case in itself. Tatsumaki was quite surprised that a man in a dog mascot could be a Class S. Watchdog Man, the protector of City Q, was a hero donned in a white dog's costume, with his expressionless face the only part of his body popping out. Tatsumaki once thought that maybe the mascot was also his body. Perhaps this hero has something more than meets the eye. His record attested to this that despite City Q to be the most infested of all the cities with monsters, he was able to hold them off single-handedly. As long as his city is safe, he doesn't care for anything in the world. Pretty much like someone Tatsumaki knew of.

Rank 10 was a bald, dark-skinned man with huge lips, round eyes and thick eyebrows. His muscles were very puffed out that he only wore a single piece of black underwear to fully show his physique. Superalloy Darkshine was his name and his muscles were not only for offense and show but defense as well. His dark toned muscle actually shone like that of an armor. He was very proud of his well-defined muscles, never to be outmatched by Tanktop Master and Puri-puri Prisoner.

Pig God, the fattest hero of the Association, rank 9, was never one for hygiene and table manners. Seeing the man continually munching of a bag of hamburgers made Tatsumaki lose her appetite. He was an obese man whose fat bulged all around his body. Short brown hair, droopy eyes, pale skin and always carrying food to satisfy his insatiable hunger. Tatsumaki barely knew what he can do but if he's in top 10, there's definitely a reason for it.

Unperturbed beside Pig God, Drive Knight's red cyclopean eye scanned the room left and right. His body was mechanical with a style of simple plate mail akin to knights. Rank 8 has black hair that freely falls down that parted in the middle and his face was like a white mask with only a single eye hole and 3 vertical slits where his mouth should have been. Much like Pig God, Tatsumaki barely knew this person, but given his cybernetic components, she quickly assumed he's one for using gadgets like Metal Knight.

Zombieman, rank 7 and the Immortal Hero, was looking at Pig God's insatiable appetite with disgust. Tatsumaki had never seen a person so deathly pale that he could fall over any second. He has a short black hair and wearing a white coat. Despite having a zombie in his name, he was never one for eating as shown for his apparent disgusted stare at Pig God's insatiable hunger. Living in a state of perpetual undeath, his complexion was that of a corpse. Blood red eyes flicked here and there, scanning and always wary.

Rank 6, the Strongest Man on Earth, King was his name and everyone knew it. He was a built tall man with shoulder length blonde hair that was combed back and curls at the back of his neck. Wearing only a black turtleneck shirt and blue pants that doesn't reveal his well-toned muscles, his physique wasn't that large like that of Darkshine, Tanktop Master and Puri-Puri Prisoner. And yet he still bore the moniker of the strongest man of the Association. Three vertical scars over his left eye, a strong jaw, sunken cheeks and an expression of supreme seriousness and calm. Tatsumaki had heard of this man's legendary reputation before but being with him in the same room, his imposing manner proved his worth. Apparently, his very strength alone was emanating out from his body in the form of an intimidating aura that he needed a great deal of self-control to contain it. Tatsumaki could actually feel the pulsing of his heartbeat, the daunting and terrifying King Engine at rest.

The youngest hero of the Association, Child Emperor, aged 10 and child prodigy, was a young boy with short brown hair and amber eyes. He carried a backpack that contained his inventions to help him out in several activities from fighting to studying. Much like his age, Child Emperor still went to school and has a liking for candies and sweets. Him being rank 5 has been quite a topic for some adults that they overlook the boy's achievements behind the scenes. It greatly annoyed the prodigy whenever he was treated like a kid, that Tatsumaki could sympathize with.

The Rank 4 was the old geezer Tatsumaki had the displeasure of meeting earlier. Atomic Samurai was hailed to be the greatest swordsman that walked this Earth for his sheer mastery of the katana. Able to slash countless times in a fraction of a second, Atomic Samurai was one of the strongest heroes that could take on multiple enemies in an instant. He has 3 well-known disciples in Class A but he never was to make some amends for their rank. He only adheres to the strong and one's effort only.

Tatsumaki was already acquainted with rank 3, Silver Fang. What surprises her still was that in his very advanced age, Bang can still fight at very high levels of combat. His selflessness was quite noble to respond to a lost cause during the meteor incident and that Tatsumaki could give merit.

As expected, rank 2 Metal Knight and rank 1 Blast were absent. Tatsumaki had never expected those two to show up in the first place. Even if Metal Knight did show up, it would be in a form of a robot that would serve as his eyes and ears. The top of the hierarchy of heroes, Blast, rank 1, was absent as always. She was starting to harbor some animosity against these people who could have the manners to at least let their presence felt once in a while.

All of these entered Tatsumaki's mind as her eyes revolved around the table. Her analytic nature won't allow her to slouch around without absorbing information as much as her senses could take. They can be a threat given the right situation. These men were the strongest heroes the Association has to offer – minus the second and first who were absent.

Now that she thought about it, she was the only female hero in Class S. Perhaps one of the reasons she was included in Class S was to be a representative for the "fairer sex" to appease women rights groups. Her popularity was growing steadily and it might account to these women who cheered for female for female sake and nothing else. Tatsumaki was never one for gender empowerment as long as one was worthy in merit and skill.

At last, her eyes return upon the lowest ranked hero in the room, Saitama. The bald man was just craning his neck here and there as if he's a lost kid.

"Hey, Tatsumaki." Saitama said in the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Why are those two seats empty?"

"Those seats are for rank 1 and 2." Tatsumaki answered. "You already know Metal Knight; that robot who helped in the meteor. Perhaps we are still waiting for those two."

"Ahhhh. So, who's rank 1? Why isn't he still here?"

"Blast is the rank 1 in Class S. As for why he isn't here, I don't know."

"What's he like, then? If he's rank 1, he is surely strong."

"Nobody knows actually." When Tatsumaki saw Saitama with a confused expression, she continued, "No one has seen him personally. He is a bit eccentric or even more like Metal Knight who doesn't like public appearances. To his credit though, he's the first hero the Association recruited. Many had thought that he's the same man who saved the grandchild of the millionaire Agoni from a monster. In response to this, Agoni had used his fortune to establish the Hero Association. This happened 3 years ago. As for Blast, no one really knows for sure. His accomplishments are kept top secret by the Hero Association and any information regarding him was classified. Perhaps Agoni himself gave him the rank and favored him to whatever he asked for. Of course, there are skeptical to crackpot theories out there. Him being an imaginary entity to give us a false sense of a savior or a hero from the distant future or the Earth's guardian of something.

"If Metal Knight is considered to be the trump card of the Association, Blast is the failsafe. It's strange but that's just how it goes. The problem with a failsafe is that it requires specific conditions to activate. Personally, I think this Blast guy has been doing this for a long time even before the Association's formation. He's just being goaded to a position he doesn't care. As long as the world isn't in terrible situation, it's fine with him."

"How do you know all this if it is a kept secret?" Saitama asked.

"It's been circulating in the internet now since the Hero Association can't keep it secret forever without someone questioning it. But because of lack of information, there's just speculation about him. We Class S simply don't talk about it much."

"Is that so. Anyway, I'm excited to meet this hero dude if he's that strong and mysterious."

 _Strong, huh?_ "Are you sure you're not Blast himself?" Tatsumaki suddenly asked.

"What? No, of course not. I know me. Why would you ask me such a strange question?"

"Nothing in particular."

"Oh. Can I have some tea? I'm feeling kinda parched for going down those stairs earlier." The other heroes glanced at the bald man's odd request, some grunted and others dismissed it altogether.

 _I should be feeling parched for explaining that long._ Tatsumaki, feeling very embarrassed for his sake, face-palmed. "You can't be serious –"

"My apologies for being late." A man announced as he entered the room with two suited men by his side. The man looked middle-aged with his hair slowly graying out. He has an air of professionalism like most Association employees despite not really heroes who has a knack for fighting. "We do not know the whereabouts of Blast, nor can we currently contact him. Metal Knight might be listening right now but as for Blast... we'll just pass along the information once we have the opportunity. This is of outmost important so we'll start right away even without Blast."

"He's a no show again?" Child Emperor muttered. "I'm hoping to see him."

"You can call me Sitch." The man continued. "I'm with the Association and will be briefing you about the situation. Let's get right down to brass tacks. You heroes are called here because you're the best of the best. And now…" Sitch slammed both his palms on the table for emphasis. "We're asking you to save the Earth! However, even with your Class S skills, there is no guarantee of survival here. You can walk away if choose to do so. If you do walk away, you will still retain your Class S status. But those who choose to stay and hear me out will not be allowed to walk away. Until the incident is over, you will stay here for a quick response. We do not want to induce panic among the citizen in calling you all around again so please understand. Are you all willing to hear this?"

All the while Tatsumaki listened when she noticed Saitama was actually sipping some tea.

 _Where the hell did he got that?_

"Whatever it is," drawled Metal Bat, "it better be worth calling all of us here all of a sudden. I skipped out on my little sister's piano recital for this. If it's a load of crap," Metal Bat glared at Sitch, "I'm gonna tear this whole building apart."

"Then you better shut your mouth so we could end this soon." Flashy Flash answered. "By interrupting, you're only aggravating the situation with your petty reasons."

"What, girly man? How 'bout I test this on you first!"

"Good luck hitting me with that flimsy stick of yours." Flashy Flash calmly replied. "You won't even see my sword coming fast at you." At once, Puri-puri Prisoner conjured some images in his mind from Flashy Flash's somewhat alternative interpretation.

"Why don't we try it then, bobby pin!"

"The great seer, Madame Shibabawa, is dead!" Sitch announced solemnly. The two bickering heroes went silent and a heavy air hung around.

"Shibabawa?" Zombieman repeated, quite surprised by the news. "Was she killed?"

"No." the bespectacled man answered instead. "While looking into the future for the next six months, she apparently became agitated and had a coughing fit. She popped a cough drop in her mouth but it ended up choking her instead."

 _That's a dumb way to die._

"I get it!" Darkshine said. "So, we're here to figure out how to prevent disasters without the help of any predictions. We're here to prevent it by our own instincts."

"No." Sitch answered. "Madame Shibabawa has only been able to predict a handful of disasters. And if she did, it is of great magnitude."

"There is no one like her when it comes to reading the future," said the ragged man. "And she only does so occasionally. She isn't a hero but without her, we would have faced many great crises before. For that, we provided her a bodyguard and gave her special treatment."

"Yes, because her few and scarce predictions were 100% accurate." Sitch said. "There's no room for doubt. The problem, however, is her last and greatest prophecy." Sitch fished a paper out from his suit pocket and laid it down on the table to be scanned. "Even as she choked on that final cough drop, she managed to wrote this down. This prophecy would surely and absolutely come to pass. Here it is!" A hologram appeared and showed the written contents of the paper and it visibly surprised some.

THE EARTH IS IN TROUBLE was written on the paper in a rushed manner.

"What? That's so dumb." Child Emperor complained impulsively. "Isn't Earth always in trouble? This is stupid. Can I go? I have cram school."

"I know you are a prodigy, Child Emperor," responded Sitch, "but if you haven't figured it out with your intelligence then it reveals how immature you still are."

"What did you say?!" Child Emperor indignantly said.

"Listen up!" Sitch announced once again to control the situation. "Madame Shibabawa's predictions, though few, are 100% accurate! She has predicted many catastrophe in the past. A few of them resulted in the loss of countless lives. At first, we didn't heed her because of her unreliable profession, but a string of tragic incidents made it undeniable that her predictions are always correct. However, since she began her predictions, never did she use the word "trouble" even to the most catastrophic ones. Never did she shrieked in panic to whatever predictions she foresaw. Therefore, we deduced from her last letter and ghastly reaction that something far more dangerous than a Dragon-level or even more is on its way."

Child Emperor sulked down, bummed out that a genius like himself haven't thought of that instantly – as he should.

"And it will occur…" Sitch took a breath and exclaimed, "in the next six months! We only have six months or less before this tragedy comes!" Silence filled the room and the King Engine and Pig God's chewing rang through.

"Okay, but we have no idea when in the next six months." Watchdog Man said, unperturbed about the news.

"Yeah, hard to plan on something so vague and wide a timetable." Flashy Flash said.

"You are correct." Sitch said. "But I want you all to be ready for a fight in the next six months. That's the reason why we called all of you here immediately. It can happen at any moment now."

"So, that means," said Saitama, joining in the conversation, "it can be tomorrow, or even today. It can be happening right now."

"That's true but…" Sitch looked at Saitama and for the first time noticed the bald man right in front of him all this time. "Anyway, who are you?" the two men by his side recognized Saitama back from the hero registration and was about to answer for him when Saitama flashed a smile.

"Good thing I'm here –"

A sudden huge earthquake rocked the building with continuous explosions. Having first to notice Saitama's introduction being rudely interrupted again, Tatsumaki said, "We're being attacked from the outside."

"That's impossible!" Darkshine protested. "This is the Hero Association HQ! It won't easily be attacked like this." Another series of explosions violently rocked the building and Saitama's tea sloshed around him. Out of instinct, Tatsumaki used her powers to prevent the liquid splashing the bald hero.

"Oh, thanks." Saitama said.

"Why haven't you finished it all up?" Tatsumaki asked, annoyed.

"It isn't hot anymore."

"Goddammit."

The explosions suddenly stopped much like its occurrence. Sitch was frantically typing on the table to assess the damage while the heroes calmly waited, anticipating it might be a false alarm. Other heroes might have taken care of it so they don't have to bother themselves with it.

"The explosions had stopped but we're having a huge interference from our readings." Sitch said. "We can't get information from our satellites or surveillance outside and it seems like – " A more powerful and deafening explosion than the explosions before rocked the building by its sheer intensity. This one was more powerful tenfold and it disabled the building's power. The room went totally dark as the heroes braced from the shockwave on their seats. Tatsumaki, her senses going overdrive, erected a barrier around the room in case it would cave in. Finally, the emergency back-up power kicked in and flooded the room with the usual lighting.

Having power restored, Sitch got out from hiding under the table and typed on it to assess the overall damage. What he saw greatly mortified him. "Impossible!" Sitch exclaimed in horror. "Destruction levels at 99.8%?! City A has been demolished in an instant! This is City A and the Association's HQ! Who could have known her prediction would come true this soon!"

"Hey." Bang said to instill calm to the horrified man. "Why was this building still standing then?"

The bespectacled man adjusted his glasses and answered, "We assigned Metal Knight to construct the Association's HQ. This particular building is stronger than the average shelter. His materials are of the highest quality that we fully let him design it."

"So that's why they're no windows." Metal Bat remarked. "Pretty gloomy, if you asked me."

"If we can't get any readings or surveillance, we should go outside and see it for ourselves if this is really the prophecy foretold." Child Emperor suggested.

Tatsumaki, not one to be commanded by a scrawny kid, floated up. "Saitama, we should go outside and check – S-Saitama?" She looked to her side and saw Saitama's seat empty. "Where - ?" Pieces of black material fell down from the ceiling and Tatsumaki looked up. There, directly on top of Saitama's seat, was a hole big enough for a man to climb through.

 _Damn that baldy! Now he has a nerve to leave me behind?!_ Tatsumaki floated towards the hole when she heard her name being called.

"Great thinking, Miss Tatsumaki!" Darkshine said. "It's better to make a direct route than using the stairs or elevators!"

"The other heroes have gone down in case of a land invasion. We'll have a good vantage point from up there." Child Emperor said, his backpack turning into a spider-like legs to aid him climb up.

"Tsk." Tatsumaki ignored the other heroes and went inside the hole. The hole was strangely circle in shape like it was drilled through instead of being hacked away. That glasses guy said this building was more durable than the average shelter but here was this hole, a testament that it can be brought down. The explosions earlier didn't even make a crack on it but Saitama drilled through it like it was nothing. She wouldn't be surprised if Saitama used his bald head instead of his fists to pass through.

Tatsumaki arrived at the rooftop of the building and stood just from the edge of the building. What she first noticed nearly made her jaw drop. Hovering in the sky was a huge purple spaceship that covered most of her line of sight. The massive ship has two pointed like arms at its front and its underside has several bulbous shaped constructs. The design of the ship was undeniably not anything Tatsumaki had seen before. This was indeed of alien origin. Anyone who thought that aliens travel in saucer like ships had been completely debunked.

Her expression didn't change when she looked at the devastated city below. Everywhere she turned was destruction all around. No buildings survived to what onslaught befell them. The attack was so intense that it vaporized the civilians, leaving them nothing but shades on the ground. City A was the heart of humanity and it would host a pretty big population compared to any other city. But looking at it, that 99.8% got wiped out in an instant, Tatsumaki felt dread creeping out from the back of her head that she forgot why she went there in a hurry.

All she could ever think was…

 _We need the help that we can get._

* * *

 **Author's Corner: GAH! Finally updated this story for a change! I've been busy, you see, in these past months. Told you the exposition would be a plenty. The chapter doesn't have much content to deal with to make it seem complete so those exposition makes up for it. The introduction of Class S heroes might be a little unnecessary but I still put it there to make the story complete. It seemed a big exclusion if I didn't include those lengthy descriptions about them.**

 **What I noticed during the alien invasion in the anime/manga was the lack of corpses after the ship's attack. It should have been everywhere given its magnitude. So, I added that little explanation on why it is absent. I'm a little more intrigued how few civilians survived that attack. Even so, it would look very disturbing to say the least that the heroes were fighting in a corpse laden field.**

 **One notable absence in this chapter might be Genos. Others might be expecting Genos to be in the Hero Association's ranks already but as I said, he isn't in the Hero Association. His time will come, I promise.**

 **Anyway, thanks for the reviews so far! I apologize if I can't reply to them all! I do appreciate them especially those who leave long and honest reviews. This story isn't perfect by any means but I'll try to improve it! Well, reviews are appreciated and see you in the next chapter!**


	16. The Dark Matter Thieves (Part 1)

**Chapter 16: The Dark Matter Thieves (Part 1)**

* * *

 _She was running with all the desperation she could muster. There were explosions in the complex all of a sudden and then the door of her cell swung open. She took a glance outside but to her surprise, the guards were gone. Perhaps they quickly responded to what caused it._

 _But now, running around with a bulky restrictive device on her head, she was sure something went wrong. All of the cells were opened and later on she found the guards, scattered and unconscious in a hall. She contemplated using their guns to shoot the lock near her neck, and quickly decided against it. It would be incredibly risky and stupid to aim at oneself; it would be very unpleasant if she missed even at point blank range. The gun was too heavy for her to carry and so left it._

 _Cursing the device every second of the way, she ran towards her sister's cell. She knew too well the layout of the laboratory for every innumerous time she passed by here. And her sister's cell was near the monster's cages. If the cells were open, maybe the monsters were open too, rampaging on their way out. She didn't know why they placed her sister there. All she knew was she was in trouble. The thought made her run faster, throwing stealth out of the equation. It was against her better judgment but time wasn't on her side. It was her sister's life on the line here._

 _Finally, she had arrived and quickly entered the cell. There, at the corner was her sister on the ground unconscious. She sighed in relief that she wasn't too late. Putting her sister's arm around her neck, she trudged on despite the weight she was now carrying. All of that means nothing if they couldn't escape out of here._

 _It was their chance, and probably their last._

 _Before going an intersection, a man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and she quickly stopped. The man saw them and stared at them for a few seconds._

 _Not wanting to spoil their escape, she risked it and exclaimed, "Don't you dare get close to us, you hear me!" the man simply stared at them that greatly irritated her. In longer observation, she noticed she hadn't seen this man around here before. He was wearing some sort of a suit with a fiery design and a cape. There was nothing exceptional in his features except for that glaring garb he's wearing._

" _Perhaps you have heard of me." The man said confidently._

" _No idea who you are! Just leave us alone!"_

" _What? You're serious?"_

" _I'm dead serious!"_

" _Really? You know, the nobody with a hobby? No? Well, I say that, but I do have a proper job too."_

" _I don't care! We are leaving here so don't you follow us!" she adjusted her sister's arm around her neck and then walked away, pretending the man didn't exist at all._

" _Oh, is that the exit? Then I'm going this way." Hearing this odd response, she turned around and saw the man going directly to the monster's cages. A little within her wanted to warn him or ask him who he was. But the dire situation they were in gave her little reprieve do that. Before she continued her way, the man stopped._

" _By the way," the man turned around and flicked a finger in her direction. "I'll tell you one thing you should keep in mind from now on. When the time comes, don't go expecting someone to save you."_

" _Tsk. You don't have to lecture me. I already knew that." At this, she turned away and the man simply shrugged and went on his way. After a few steps, the device on her head gave way and fell to the ground in a thud. This made her momentarily wobble and nearly dropped her sister. Balancing for a few seconds, she examined what the hell just happened._

 _The lock on the device she had loathe since day one was shattered. No. it just wasn't there anymore. There was a hole where the lock should have been. Without it, the device slipped on her head when she moved. She didn't even notice what happened._

 _The more pressing matters now was she could use her powers whenever she wanted. She could exact her revenge, right here, right now. Those fools would get what was coming to them and then some._

 _As she tried to contemplate her decision, she heard her sister mutter something incoherent._

" _Bla…"_

" _What?"_

 _No response. Her sister must have passed out again._

 _There's no time to enact vengeance when her sister was in no shape at all. All they need to do was to get the hell out of here. They can find out what happened when they're no longer in danger._

 _Using her powers, she lifted up her sister and flew away. Leaving the place where she stayed for three agonizing years, the man before flashed across her mind._

 _Who was he? What the hell was he doing there? Was he the one who caused all this? Their escape looked very convenient if they would escape that easily. It made her feel very ungrateful though, but she can't blame herself to not trust anyone anymore. There's no one who's going to save them except for themselves._

 _His clothes looked weird though._

 _It made her think that he's like a… hero._

 _Preposterous. Heroes don't exist. If they do, she and her sister wouldn't have been here in the first place. Her family would still be alive and all of this would never happen. If only someone saved them when they needed it most before all this had happened…_

 _Heroes?_

 _No._

 _She stopped expecting a long time ago._

x-x-x

"Miss Tatsumaki."

"…"

"Miss Tatsumaki?"

Tatsumaki woke up from the shock of seeing the obliterated scenery. Shrugging her head to remove the memory, she indignantly replied, "What?"

"This is a transponder so HQ can contact you remotely. Put it on your ear just like an earphone." The little boy known as Child Emperor handed Tatsumaki a small device. Tatsumaki absently put it on her ear only to remember what the heck she was doing. Turning around, there were 3 other heroes on the top of the building with her. Flashy Flash looking stern as usual, Darkshine staring at the ship with bewilderment, and King, who was about to get out of the hole, with a deadpan expression on his face as always.

"Four Class S heroes can take care of the enemy on the ground." Child Emperor continued, nibbling the edge of a lollipop. "Mr. Bang, Mr. Atomic Samurai, Mr. Metal Bat and Mr. Puri Puri Prisoner are melee combatants that are effective on land. As for the ship that's high up in the sky… that pose a problem. Airships like that usually has anti-air capabilities for defense so anything getting close would be shot down in seconds."

"Even with my speed, I can't jump high enough to get aboard." Flashy Flash remarked.

"That's the same with my strength." Darkshine added. Turning to King, he asked, "King, you're one of the top fighters in Class S. Give us your take. Should we use both speed and power to get aboard? I can boost Flashy Flash up on the ground and throw him so he can have enough lift to reach the ship. Perhaps you can do that in my place if you want to." Flashy Flash frowned at such a foolhardy and knuckle-headed suggestion with him being a glass cannon.

"Hey!" Tatsumaki cut it, very irritated she's been left out of the conversation and ignored so far. "Just so you know, I'm a freaking esper here. I can just lift you all up there and spare you the embarrassment doing that ridiculous stunt. On second thought, I could rip this ship to shreds by simply tossing debris on it."

"Hmm, that's sounds very straightforward and logical," said Child Emperor. "Long range bombardment or an infiltration mission. Both have respective advantages and disadvantages. Mr. King, I want to hear your opinions first before we decide a plan of attack."

Tatsumaki controlled her tantrums and crossed her arms. She stayed silent and stared at the hero being asked. _King, Class S rank 7. He's clearly well respected by the other heroes if they keep asking him for his opinion._

"…Neither are those are good." King answered solemnly.

 _WHAT THE HELL?!_

"The ship is way too high to be reached by any means. And if we do plan to board it, consider that we don't know anything about the ship's capabilities except it can destroy a city in an instant. If we do plan to attack it from afar, it must be with the intent of bringing it down very quickly before it has the chance to strike back. Doing incremental attacks would only awaken it, leading to greater troubles later on. But the mysterious craft is currently dormant and silent. It is my opinion that we must use this opportunity to call in Metal Knight and let him fire on the ship using his many warheads. I believe he can do it, and our best chance at this point."

"What the?! That's pathetic!" Tatsumaki exclaimed, appalled. "Aren't you supposed to be the strongest man here? What kind of a cowardly suggestion is that?"

"Miss Tatsumaki," said Child Emperor. "Mr. King do raises some valid –"

"The city's been blown away, and you're not going to do something about it?!"

The King Engine began to thump continuously but without a reply. The other heroes became wary what Tatsumaki was doing to upset King and so remained silent with Darkshine warning Tatsumaki. The Strongest Man might snap and kill them all here out of spite.

"…"

"Well forget it!" Tatsumaki snapped, not aware the danger she's brewing. "I'll take care of this myself if you losers just gonna sit here and do nothing!"

"Miss Tatsumaki," Child Emperor said once again, rising the ire of Tatsumaki tenfold. "Cooperation between heroes are the only way to go. We can still be of assistance even if Professor Bofoi arrived. Waiting is not the same as doing nothing."

"…Maybe you didn't hear me," threatened Tatsumaki, "I said forget it! I don't want to wait on my ass here and count on someone else to save the day! I'm going! End of discussion!" Tatsumaki flew away towards the ship, leaving the heroes dumbstruck by her stubbornness.

"That's why I try not to work with adults," Child Emperor mumbled.

x-x-x

 _The nerve of those idiots,_ Tatsumaki thought, flying towards the ship. That's why she never worked well with people. Her abilities shown brightest when she escapes the binding and restrictive ways of teamwork.

Thinking of teamwork, there's this bald man who quickly left her alone after complaining she always leave him behind. The hypocrisy was grating ceaselessly in her mind. But she has to give it to him, he quickly sprang into action than anyone else did.

Did Saitama manage to get aboard this ship by jumping alone? Of course, he did. He managed to punch an incoming meteor from a standing position. She briefly thought she might stumble on him looking lost like a kid inside the ship.

Multiple purple flashes shone one by one from the ship's hull. A second later, large bullets went screaming at the esper.

Tatsumaki evaded the oncoming projectiles by swirling around them.

"So that's how they blew the city to pieces." Tatsumaki said. "Pretty primitive."

A second set of projectiles barraged at her.

"That's not how you treat your guest." Tatsumaki raised both her hands and the bullets stopped completely still in front of her. "You can have your shells back." The projectiles faced the ship and spun around on its axis. Slowly it gained momentum and went back to the ship at full force. Upon impact, the shells exploded in a fiery fireball that damaged a chunk of the ship's hull.

"That solves the entrance." Tatsumaki flew towards it but a beeping sound in her ear made her stop.

"Anyone who can hear me in this frequency! This is the Hero Association! We have scanned the city and discovered that there are still some survivors stuck underground after the attack. Most are in subways, underground complexes and basements. Any heroes who can help, please respond! We don't have much time and manpower to cover all of them before they get completely caved-in!" The announcement kept repeating as Tatsumaki decided which way she would go. Right in front of her was the ship, which Saitama possibly be inside already. On the flip side were the survivors who needed help before they get buried unless help arrived. Tatsumaki was torn between the two and it only waste time she didn't have.

 _Dammit. I'm gonna smack that baldy for leaving me if we meet later. The civilians come first for now._

Pressing the transponder which she never noticed until now, she replied, "Tatsumaki here. I'll go and get the survivors. I'm an esper so I can help more than a thousand excavators. Just lead me where to go."

"M-Miss Tatsumaki?" a female voice responded, a different one from before. "Okay. We have your location, and the closest batch of survivors are under Subway A-1. The subways of City A are built with several shelters strong enough to withstand a powerful earthquake. The problem is that they can't get out under the rubble."

"Less explaining and more guiding."

"Yes. I apologize. The first one near your location is under the Shopping District: 756 meters, due northwest from your location. Just right on top of the shelter is a bronze statue of a shopping bag."

"Bronze shopping bag. Got it." Tatsumaki wasn't particularly thrilled being commanded, but that should be put aside for now. Lives were at stake here. She could berate them as soon as this was done.

Tatsumaki flew towards her destination. The ravaged city was beyond hope. The only building that was left visible of the city skyline was the Hero Association's HQ. Most building collapsed and fell like dominos on the unsuspecting crowd. Dusts blanketed every inch of the ground like snow after a blizzard. Some limbs once connected to a person were scattered and the thick roiling dusts hid the gruesome scene. Most were buried on the spot and it would be nearly impossible to track them all.

It can be generally stated that City A has died and completely erased from the map.

Finally, Tatsumaki found the bronze shopping bag statue. It was still standing with all its glory despite everywhere around it was demolished.

"That's one hell of a shopping bag." Tatsumaki said. Scanning the ground beneath it, she sensed that there were indeed survivors. Perhaps the statue itself was like an antenna to alert their presence.

Glowing green, Tatsumaki pulled the whole shelter out of the ground carefully. Little by little the shelter was exhumed out of the ground and was put on a cleared field.

Tatsumaki ripped the door open and saw the survivors with masks on to fend the dusts off their noses. Some have injuries tended by the survivors themselves with the supplies found inside. Most of them were surprised that they were lifted off underground.

"You're all safe." Tatsumaki said to the terrified and dumbstruck survivors. "There are still many who needs help. The Association would send help to get you out of here but I need to be somewhere else now." Like a bubble bursting, the survivors replied at the same time.

"Thank you, miss!"

"I can't believe it! Thank God you arrived!"

"That's Miss Tatsumaki, mommy! She saved us!"

"We can't say enough how thankful we are!"

"Thank heavens for heroes! You saved us!"

Tatsumaki flew away, flustered from the words. There was a little in her feeling satisfied and contented. It was the same when she almost killed that sea monster. It was enough to make her feel embarrassed instead.

"Miss Tatsumaki," said the female voice, "the next one is A-7, 614 meters due west. It is above the residential areas and the landmark is a golden bell. The shelter is right below it."

"Golden bell. Got it."

Tatsumaki arrived and subsequently pulled the shelter out of the ground.

"Thank goodness you're here!"

"I thought it was all over! Thank you!"

"What took you so long? We donated hard-earned money to build your precious -"

"Quit it, asshole! She just saved us! Be grateful!"

"Sorry about that."

Tatsumaki visited the shelters one by one and hauled them out of the ground. Most of their survivors' reactions were of appreciation and bewilderment. There were some ungrateful people who complained to blame on something. Some cried of their predicament that some of their relatives might have died or their belongings went down with the city.

It was a different range of emotions when calamity struck. Some acted as leaders to calm the panicking crowd while others snapped out of their minds and wailed uncontrollably. There were some stories of heroism when some survivors carried the injured back and forth to the shelters but they themselves were unable to go back to the shelter in time when the place finally collapsed. And then there were those who locked up the shelter despite having enough room to accommodate others. Tatsumaki didn't open that particular shelter when she brought one down. Inside was just one person, a politician of all people, had chosen to save only himself. There were bodies near the entrance that he could have let in, but decided against it and huddled in a corner.

This was the worst and best traits humanity has to offer in the face of great adversary. One has the chance to step up but shrunk in fear for their own personal survival while brave people died in their valiant efforts to save others. Great calamities don't make great people. It killed them, unfortunately.

"What's next?" Tatsumaki asked, flying over the city.

"You have cleared all the shelters in that vicinity, Miss Tatsumaki. Great job. We are currently retrieving them now off site. Other responding heroes have helped the survivors in other places. I am sad to inform that some shelters didn't make it. They collapsed before help arrived."

"Dammit."

"Wait. We are currently getting a distress signal coming from a vehicle transport. They were being attacked by some alien force. They have civilians onboard and some needed immediate medical attention."

"Where are they?"

"They are near the outskirts of the city, specifically the Westbound exit. The roads that leads to the Association are still passable so they took that route."

"On it."

x-x-x

Stinger, Class A rank 11, wasn't particularly interested in excavation. His trusty bamboo shoot spear wasn't meant to use to drill the ground but to fight monsters. His fellow hero, Lightning Max, Class A rank 20, wasn't particularly thrilled either in kicking up rocks and boulders. In the name of rescuing lives, however, everything was worthwhile. Mumen Rider was simply content in helping the best way he could.

Unfortunately, they found themselves to what they're wishing for. An alien squad had found them and started chasing them. It wouldn't be a problem to Stinger or Lightning Max to fight them head-on, but they needed to secure the civilians' safety first.

And that was what the aliens were attacking. There were quite many and in different forms. Others quickly regenerate while some were like fodder.

In their escape, Mumen Rider didn't want to take the wheel because he doesn't have a driving license. This made Lightning Max the reluctant driver while on top of the vehicle was Stinger fending off alien intruders from chasing them.

"This isn't what I signed for." Lightning Max muttered.

"A hero must always be ready to do what is need of them." Mumen Rider answered.

"Yeah. About your bicycle, why do you insist on –" the transport suddenly floated off the road and hovered on the sky.

"What the!?" Lightning Max exclaimed in a high pitch voice. "We'vebeinpulleduptheship!"

 _This green glow._ Mumer Rider remembered. "It's alright, Lightning Max," the cyclist of Justice said. "Miss Tatsumaki is here."

"Who?"

The aliens stopped their pursuit once they saw a green haired girl went between them and their prey. The vehicle slowly went back on the ground.

"Get out of here," said the esper. "I'll take care of this."

"We can still fight!" Stinger replied. "We can't leave you behind here."

"Are you implying I can't back my own words?" Tatsumaki said. She glanced at Mumen Rider and continued, "Besides, I'm here to repay the favor."

Understanding the esper's words, Mumer Rider said to the two heroes, "Don't worry guys. She can handle this. The civilians' safety is top priority. We should go."

"Huh. Funny to hear you asking us like that." Stinger dryly observed.

"I'm only reiterating her."

"Tsk." Tatsumaki lifted Stinger and shoved him inside the transport. "Car! Leave now!" The vehicle took off without any fuss.

"How dare you meddle with our hunt." One alien with multiple eyes said. "We are the Alpha Squadron, led by one of the three great lieutenants. We are the first one to inspect the planet's inhabitants if they're worthy. For that intrusion, you'll be the first one of your race to be tested."

The alien army began to ran towards her with their strange, odd weapons raised. Tatsumaki closed her eyes and counted them.

 _91… 92… 95 of them._

Tatsumaki raised a hand at them and she glowed in a deep shade of green. The aliens too were covered by the green light.

"Astral Annihilation."

The first row of the alien army disintegrated in a whirlwind followed by the second. It was a ripple of destruction flowing through their ranks until all of them were dissolved in a huge tornado. Blue blood splattered on the toppled buildings.

"So much for their talk." Tatsumaki said, hovering in the sky. "It makes me think they're not the ones responsible if they're this weak."

"…Weak you say?"

Tatsumaki turned left and right. She swore she had heard someone. The ground beneath her gave way and a big gaping mouth with sharp fangs went up to swallow her whole. Tatsumaki flew high up to avoid being engulfed. To her surprise, the mouth coughed up green toxic fumes. She quickly erected a barrier around her and noticed the barrier itself was slowly corroding from the fumes.

"Dammit." Tatsumaki used her powers to generate a wind current to blow the toxic cloud away. Flying away, she assessed what happened. The appendage had retracted back to a green creature on the ground.

"You managed to dodge both my Number 12: Subterranean Bite and Number 18: Acid Breath." The creature was humanoid in stature and muscular in physique, but has mouths like a Venus flytrap for hands and head. His body color was plant-like and he has thorns protruding from his neck and shoulders. Despite his plant-like appearance, he showed some lizard-like qualities like scales and a tail.

"I am Groribas, one of the 3 most powerful lieutenants of the Dominator of the Universe! We are the Dark Matter Thieves! We're here to judge this planet if it's worthy of our leader's attention. If you can beat me, that is!"

"Why do I always have to fight the most talkative ones?" Tatsumaki said absently. She raised a hand to tried to annihilate the foreign alien, but was unable to.

 _What the hell? Are they all telepaths now too?_

"Ah, so you're like Geryuganshoop." Groribas said. "To think I would find one on this planet." Green orbs of energy went to his face, but those melted before it made contact. "But he's more powerful than you primitives. I developed a resistance after innumerable spar with him. I'm resistant to a point I can negate your attacks. You see, there is no way you can defeat me!" He raised both his arms and those stretched forward.

"Eat this! Number 14: Double Bite!" Tatsumaki dodged sideways and generated twin blades on her hands. She was about to cut the appendages when she stopped short. The blades on her hand stopped as it went near the monster. His whole body was leaking out fumes as a defense mechanism from counterattacks. It was like cutting a bag of acid.

Tatsumaki flew away, deciding to think this through.

 _He is everything that could counter me. Psychic powers are useless against this guy._

"Smart. It would only hurt you if you had continued when I have Number 19: Corrosive Skin. Well, how about this!" Groribas buried an arm on the ground. "Number 13: Subterranean attack, version 2!" His arm appeared below Tatsumaki and she flew away.

"Not so fast!" His other arm extended and caught her mid-air, curling around her.

"Number 7: Purgatory Thorn Grip!" sharp thorns appeared on his arm and punctured the esper while squeezing her tight.

A large boulder suddenly dropped on Groribas. The esper earlier turned into green light and whisked out of existence instead of exploding.

 _Psychic powers may not work on you, but I have other means to attack._ Tatsumaki was hovering in the sky, multiple debris by her side. The debris shot forward and buried the alien. After a few seconds, fumes went out of the cracks and the debris slowly melted, revealing Groribas unfazed.

"How simplistic. Do you really believe you can defeat me with that?" Groribas taunted. "Time to take it up a notch." Groribas burrowed using his mouth hands and went underground. Tatsumaki felt she needed to brace from this alien's attack.

After a few seconds, thick green vines snaked out and enveloped the ground.

"You have no escape!" a voice exclaimed. "Number 6: Sky Strangle Sunder!" the vines all around shot sharp thorns upwards, sprinkling the air with needles.

Tatsumaki used the debris as a shield, but the thorns whittled it down to pieces. As a second line of defense, she erected a barrier around her. The barrier was showered by many sharp needles. A few managed to pierced through and one dashed her right across the cheek.

The onslaught was over but Tatsumaki didn't get unscathed. The sleeves of her dress have many parallel cuts. Blood trickled down on the few small cuts on her legs and was painful like a paper cut.

 _I won't win if all I do is defend myself. This is even harder than that sea monster._

"You're still up?" Groribas said, digging out from the ground. As he stood up, a being composed of green light brought its arm down to slice him on the back. Groribas simply turned around and bit the ethereal being in half.

"That won't do. Huh?" the ground beneath him swirled and formed into a whirlwind, picking up debris to cut the alien multiple times. He tried to move away but found something pinning him to the ground.

 _That thing you bit earlier is what stopping you. It is enhancing gravity by pulling everything down with it._

"Oh, this seems familiar to me." Groribas remarked, using his arms to shield himself from the whirlwind. "Gravity manipulation. It is still ways weaker compared to Geryuganshoop's. The downside of it is that," he raised an arm and spat a glob of acid at her. "Number 17: Acid Spit. I'm immune."

Tatsumaki used her powers to stop the acid ball hitting her and in so doing lost track of the monster.

Groribas curled into a ball and rolled forward, his sharp tail wildly whipping around. "Number 8: Screw Tail Thrust!"

Tatsumaki thought of dodging it but the tail was lashing in all directions. All she could do was flew back. Two big boulders slammed on Groribas' sides and were quickly obliterated by his tail.

 _This is impossible. I can't even land a decent attack._

Landing on the ground, Tatsumaki looked up.

"Got you now!" Groribas exclaimed, uncurling in the air. "Special move number 3: Poisonous Pollen Paralysis!" the vines on the ground earlier started budding flowers and opened, releasing yellow spores all around.

 _By screaming its name, you're revealing what it can do._

Tatsumaki created a dome of barrier. The spores weren't corroding the barrier like the acid fumes earlier but it was still dangerous if she gets a whiff of it.

 _This is like that mosquito cloud from before._

Tatsumaki took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Green lights pierced out of the yellow cloud and was dispersed as the green dome expanded greatly.

Looking up, what she saw Groribas front-flipped and lashed out his tail on her screaming, "Number 9: Tail Whip!"

Tatsumaki had no time to grumble how uncreative the move's name was nor did she has time to retract the barrier back. She dodged the tail by moving to her left. At this, Groribas extended a hand to attack. Out of instinct, Tatsumaki quickly slashed at it with her right hand. Feeling a burning sensation, Tatsumaki flew away and faced the alien.

"Hurts, doesn't it? Number 20: Rapid Regeneration." Groribas said, his slashed opened hand began sewing itself back together. Tatsumaki's right hand wasn't that badly burned with the speed of her slash, but it still stung.

 _Great. He has insane regeneration too,_ Tatsumaki thought. _Wait. What's that inside his hand?_

The thing's color contrasted to his green skin. It was ruby red and shaped… like a marble. Before she took a good look at it, it was enveloped entirely and reverted back to his odd mouth hand.

"This is taking longer than expected." Groribas said. "Perhaps Melzalgard might be done by now. Need to finish this." All of his mouths opened wide at the same time and green mists started flowing around him. "Special Move Number 2: Acid Armor!"

Groribas suddenly appeared right in front of Tatsumaki and swiped a hand at her. Tatsumaki flew back but Groribas quickly followed, attacking rabidly. His trail left a green mist all around and Tatsumaki was careful not to go back from where he once went.

 _This… move of his scatters the mist wherever he goes. It's used both offensively and defensively._

Tatsumaki generated wind currents to blow away the acidic mist while evading. She also used her environment to her advantage when she once went inside a toppled building and collapsed it while going out. However, that weird plant alien still persisted to follow her around, melting everything in his path.

There was one thing he couldn't do, she noticed.

Tatsumaki flew high up in the sky, staying out of reach.

 _You can't fly, can you?_

Tatsumaki lifted up debris to rain upon the earthbound alien. And was very surprised Groribas had managed to reach her up in the sky.

"Number 10: Toxic Thrusters!"

 _Damn! He's using both his hands as thrust!_

Debris circled around them while they fought mid-air. Tatsumaki used different materials such as steel bars, huge chunk of concrete, cars, posts and everything she could lay her powers on including a kitchen sink to throw at him. All of them dissolved right before impact and the atmosphere was getting acidic.

Tatsumaki went down on the ground, starting to run out of ideas and breathing deeply. All this was draining her stamina in an alarming rate and it won't get better if the fight went on any longer.

 _It's no good. I can't fight him head on._

"I can tell you're getting tired." Groribas said, landing atop of a building. "Unfortunately for you, I do not." He lunged towards the esper, intent on continuing the chase, when a huge fireball blazed right through him.

"Target acquired."

"What?" Groribas swiped a hand on the fire to fend it off. He went atop of another building to make sense where the fire came from. The Earth creature was a psychic, not pyrokinetic, so it was strange.

Tatsumaki too was surprised of this sudden turn of events. She turned her eyes where the flame came from and saw a young man with short spiky blond hair wearing a white sleeveless top, blue denim pants and brown boots. The most apparent thing was that the man was mostly mechanical except for his face and ears. Both his eyes have black sclera with yellow irises shining in bright gold. His huge bulging mechanical arms was steaming in a fiery orange outline. The reassuring thing was that he doesn't looked alien and he instead attacked the one who looked like one.

"I hurriedly came here to this city expecting the one I've been looking for have also destroyed another." The man said matter-of-factly. "It isn't the case apparently. You exhibit toxicity in nature and alien in origin, not a certain cyborg I'm looking for. Nevertheless, you are about to be eliminated for all the ruination you and your companions on that airship have caused."

"Ha! No matter how many of you weaklings show up, you're still no match against me and my multiple moves!" Groribas boasted.

"Very well." The man lifted an arm, palm opened, leveling it at the alien. "Incinerate."

* * *

 **Author's Corner: Wut wut! Update! I was tempted to let Tatsumaki board the ship, but in the end decided to stick to my original plan. It would have ruined something if I chose that. I updated quickly because I felt the last chapter isn't that satisfying with its long expositions and all.**

 **As you might have noticed, Groribas (or Gloryverse to some) is here and wrecking shit up. He has more screen time compared to his glorious 15 seconds of canon. This monster, surprisingly, is rated as a Dragon-level threat, meaning he can be quite powerful. He finally has the chance to show off his many moves! And that paved way to another character to enter the fray: Genos. It took so many chapters for this teen toaster to finally make his grand appearance! What better way to show it in fighting alongside the short-tempered esper. In canon, they had a spat when deciding what to do with the airship. Now, they need to work together in bringing down this upstart Venus Flytrap.**

 **This is the penultimate chapter and the next would be the last! I do have a Blast (ba dum tss!) writing this thing. Never dreamed that it would have a lot of readers who would follow/favorite it. Spelling errors and grammar mistakes abound here and I would address them once I've finished the whole thing. I really do appreciate any correction!**

 **Anyway, reviews are appreciated and see you in the next and last chapter! Ciao!**


	17. The Dark Matter Thieves (Part 2)

**Chapter 17: The Dark Matter Thieves (Part 2)**

* * *

"Incinerate."

Groribas raised an arm and acid mist spewed out to meet against the cyborg's attack. Both flame and acid cloud met in a bizarre concoction that cancelled each other out, distinguishing the flames and dissipating the acid fumes.

Before the flame and acid were completely gone, Groribas appeared in front of the cyborg and swiped an arm at him, intending to bite him in half. However, debris went in between the two and Groribas bit onto it instead of the young blonde.

"Don't you forget about me!" Tatsumaki yelled as she continued to hurl debris at the alien.

The alien dodged the debris and was caught off guard when the cyborg quickly appeared in front of him and placed a palm on his chest. Bright flame blazed right out of the cyborg's palm, tearing the Groribas' acid armor and blasting him out in the process.

"You fool!" Groribas taunted getting his bearings. "Getting close to me like that is asking for death!" The black smoke subsided and it showed the cyborg looked unfazed from acid to Groribas' surprise.

"Doctor Kuseno's new type of metal has a certain resistance to acid. This new upgrade has been timely." The cyborg stated.

Groribas grunted. "Even so, I still have few moves to –"

Two boulders smashed at his sides.

"I SAID don't you forget about me!" Tatsumaki exclaimed. The cyborg added into it by firing a concentrated fiery beam that annihilated both boulders and scorching the ground below.

The ground underneath the cyborg burst forth a fanged appendage and swallowed him whole. The appendage spewed out black smoke between its fangs and then exploded violently. Smoke might have blurred Tatsumaki's sight but she couldn't mistake a glint of a marble like object when the arm exploded. The alien's arm was simply cooked to charcoal whereas that marble still glistened.

"That's why I don't like doing a move twice in a battle." Groribas said, digging himself out of the ground, his missing right arm evident. His arm regenerated when the marble that Tatsumaki was eyeing went back to him.

The cyborg went back on the ground and, without warning, boosters from his back opened and electricity sparked all around him.

 _He can fight in close range if he's immune to acid,_ Tatsumaki thought.

The cyborg dashed towards Groribas. In turn, Groribas enveloped himself with toxic mists to reduce visibility on himself to hide but they were blown off by a wind current. He knew who generated it but unable to hide, Groribas began to run away when he noticed debris were arranged in a way to block his escape and the only way to get out was jumping up. He had no time digging out.

He did just that and was met by the cyborg in midair with both fists cocked.

"Machine Gun Blows." The blonde unleashed a flurry of explosive punches. Desperate, Groribas raised a hand and opened it wide to absorb the punishment. He could always heal from it but regenerating the whole body instead of an arm would cost more energy and time.

Either way, Groribas' arm was shredded and when the attack finally subsided quickly dashed away to recuperate. Now having distance between his foes, he began to plan a succession of moves to finally bring those two down.

But first, he needed to recover his arm.

Few seconds passed and his arm didn't regenerate.

"What the?" Groribas said in surprise. "Where –"

"Looking for this?" Groribas turned his head and saw the green haired creature showing him something that made him grew pale green.

"So, this is how you regenerate." Tatsumaki remarked, eyeing the red marble in her hand.

"HEY! Give that back!" Groribas demanded.

"All the more reason to smash it open." Tatsumaki flung the marble to the air and two rocks smashed on its side, breaking it to pieces. Groribas took a step backwards as if struck.

"Not only that, this seems to be your energy source." Tatsumaki added. "I can feel your energy fluctuate. Hmph. Getting tired now?" The cyborg didn't say anything but his golden eye scanning the creature's biology was starting to report that a sudden change was on its way.

"You… FOOLISH CREATURES! PREPARE TO DIE THIS TIME!" Groribas exclaimed. His fangs and remaining hand grew more pronounced. His body began to divide in two, the mouth on each part. He continued to grow bigger and bigger that he doesn't look humanoid anymore but a bizarre wormlike creature. Arms grew out of the sides while green tendrils appeared all around his body.

"Secret Move Number 1: ACID DRAGONS!" The two creatures roared loudly and they began to chase their way towards the two.

"Oh boy." Tatsumaki flew away. She raised debris behind her and threw them towards the alien. It was no use, however, as the alien simply devoured them whole. She knew the cyborg has his hands full also. Fire blazed away in her peripheral vision and it was more that he was running away too.

Because of the chaos, the two separated ways. Tatsumaki didn't know what the cyborg was capable off except for blazing out fire and being resistant to acid. It turned out it was very useful against the alien while she was not that a good match against it. It didn't help that Groribas split himself to two against them.

Tatsumaki flew away while the alien dragon chased her. The dragon roared and unleashed spikes from its frills. The esper zigzagged through the topple skyscrapers for cover and would try to deflect the projectiles back. The projectiles would simply be melted by the acid fumes emitting around the alien. To counter, the dragon began to spit acid globes in quick succession. Returning it back would be futile since the alien itself was immune to acid unlike the Sea King. Tatsumaki used debris to shield herself but then saw when an acid globe explodes, it would release yellow spores. And the way he shot them, it was to spread all across. It was like an acid bubble. Just like last time, Tatsumaki created a dome that repelled the poisonous fog away. Vines suddenly erupted from the ground to grab her. Generating twin blades from her hands, Tatsumaki began to hack away at the vines.

 _He can use all his moves while in this form._ Tatsumaki thought.

The ground gave way and the dragon appeared to swallow her whole. The dragon gave a semblance of a smirk but then saw the esper flying away.

 _It's getting old you know,_ Tatsumaki thought. She was still aware she was going nowhere here. It's more efficient to bring the two dragons down together in one fell swoop. It was better to bring the alien down together instead of them finishing one each. That cyborg's abilities would be very useful if they can somehow trap the two in an enclosed space.

Tatsumaki caught sight of fire blazing out in a street. It was bee lining towards a certain building. When she put it together, the cyborg was luring it to an enclosed stadium with a clear field. It wasn't massive but big enough to contain the two aliens inside. Of course, it was damaged by the ship's attack but its roof was miraculously intact. Perhaps a bullet didn't hit it directly and the tremors didn't manage to bring it down. The Association had alerted her earlier that there were no more remaining pockets of survivors in the city so this building was empty.

Funny to think that perhaps it was more durable than the Association's shelter. Cutting corners, maybe.

The dragon began its chase once more. Tatsumaki now knew where to go. The dragon didn't relent from its attacks, spitting acid globes and spikes at her. Tatsumaki dodged or used debris as a shield while still going towards the stadium.

Finally, she arrived and opened the topside of the stadium with her telekinesis and entered. As expected, the alien went inside too.

"You think…" the dragon said telepathically. "You think you can hide from me again!?"

Groribas looked around the stadium and saw the entrance smashed open by his other self, tumbling forward inside. The two dragons got on their bearings and began looking for their prey. They saw one when they looked up.

The esper was floating above them, her arms crossed. A glint of light shining brighter by each passing second shone in the entrance. It was the cyborg with his hands clenched together, pointing at them with multiple cannons ready to burst fire.

"INCINERATE!" The cyborg exclaimed and a big wave of fire engulfed the whole stadium. The two dragons screamed and tried to get away but debris continued to pour forth from above, putting fuel to the fire.

Above, Tatsumaki erected a barrier around the stadium so that the heat won't escape. The monster may nullify her psychic powers but she can amplify the fire inside.

"ASTRAL TORNADO!" the blaze turned into a raging inferno inside while the monster screamed in agony, turning the stadium into an oven. She may not admit this but it was better to work together to bring the alien down. Irony would have been the word of the day given she flat out refused cooperation with the heroes earlier.

Well, she was irritated for their lack of quick action so she couldn't blame herself.

The combined attack took a while before they let up. Inside was now a smoldering charcoal with the ground turning into bright crimson brimstone.

Tatsumaki went down and saw the cyborg crushing a red marble in his metallic hand.

Groribas burst out of the burnt carcass. He seemed sluggish and weak. He reverted back to his humanoid form but now without his arms and green goo bleeding out.

"You… pathetic creatures." He spat out.

"You're the only one left." Tatsumaki said. "This won't take too long. Any more moves you care to show?"

Groribas chuckled. "I don't need to. It's over." The cyborg was startled as his readings picked up that the ship's energy was rapidly raising. The ground began to rumble and purple light shone from the underside of the ship gathering energy.

The spaceship was about to fire again.

Tatsumaki felt the ground rumbling. "What -?"

"I'm afraid I'm simply buying it time to fire again." Groribas said. "Too bad you can't regenerate like me. I'll enjoy your bodies being obliterated to bits!"

Despite the impending doom, Tatsumaki was thinking what to do. If it comes to it, she needed to stop every single projectile coming down at them. It was a citywide attack and it would undoubtedly be not easy. She couldn't repel a single massive meteor from space but this? A volley fired at point blank range?

It was bordering to impossible.

Tatsumaki tried to control the whole ship by ripping it apart to stop it from firing, but some… thing was resisting her powers. She can't take hold any of it. There must be an energy core inside it capable of resisting psychic powers on its own. The massive energy it built up might also be the culprit.

In short, she has to do the impossible.

"I have no choice but to use this prototype." The cyborg blonde said. "Forgive me Doctor Kuseno. I know it is for a specific cyborg but the situation calls for it."

 _This one talks a lot._

The cyborg attached a glowing blue sphere next to his arm and adjusted aim towards the ship.

And fired.

"You can't possibly bring down this ship with your puny weapons." Groribas boasted. Tatsumaki was perfectly aware of that but the beam fired wasn't fiery orange. It was an electrical beam that poured forth towards the ship. The purple light was growing dimmer and the ship's compartments weren't fully opening to accommodate the large bullets. It wasn't damaging it but rather disabling its energy source as it spreads out.

 _An EMP blast._

Effective or not, the ship was as big as a city so this won't cover everything. There would still be parts of the ship capable to shoot down.

"What the? What the hell's happening?! Why won't you fire!" Groribas complained. He didn't get any response from the ship's crew. It may be his telepathy weakening that he lost contact. As a last burst transmission, he said, "Just use the remaining functional cannons and aimed it here! THAT'S AN ORDER!"

One by one, few purple lights shone again and bullets did drop from the ship. Suddenly, all of them halted at the same time and hung suspended in the air.

"What?!" Groribas cried out. "That's impossible!" The projectiles were covered in green glow and he knew where that glow came from.

Tatsumaki was strained in the effort in stopping the bullets this quick but the training she did was paying off. The inane endurance training she did with that baldy made sense now.

The large projectiles faced upwards and went back to the ship with added rotation. The ship's underside exploded all around, threatening to bring it down with its own bullets.

Groribas turned away from the ship's destruction to the esper. She's busy and that metal creature looks exhausted from his attack. This was his chance to strike back.

Turning himself to a worm and not trying to say out loud it was Move Number 4: Body Morph for stealth purposes, he slithered towards the esper to bite her little head off. A large bullet suddenly dropped on him before he was even half-way.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten about you." Tatsumaki said. "Here's a taste of your own medicine." Large bullets dropped on the alien. Tatsumaki flew away and the cyborg jumped out of the stadium. The stadium was repeatedly bombarded and was completely destroyed.

Tatsumaki looked over the crater, searching for the red marble that would finally end the persistent alien. A red glint of light went upwards and stayed still.

"It still isn't over, earthlings." A voice said in Tatsumaki's head. "I may have been defeated but I might as well bring you two down with me!" the red marble shone brighter, showing signs it would explode catastrophically.

"Last move Number 0: PLANETARY DESTRUCTION, CORROSIVE EXPLOSION!"

Tatsumaki, using what psychic energy remained in her, telekinetically flung the red marble upwards towards the ship. The alien's resistance to her psychic power had weakened now that he only has one energy source left. The red marble went straight to the ship and, in a flash of green light, exploded violently that it managed to tilt the massive ship. The explosion quickly corroded a fifth of the massive ship and it threatened to reach ground. As a last-ditch effort, Tatsumaki created a barrier around the explosion within a specific radius thus damaging only the ship. The effort alone nearly made her pass out instantly and if weren't for those training, she would have died earlier.

Exhausted, Tatsumaki knelt down. It was over, she was sure. Not only that annoying alien was dead once and for all, the ship sustained damage too. For something called "Planetary Destruction", it didn't felt it would have destroyed the planet. If that was the case, it would be utterly out of her league to even deflect or fight that. Good thing it was just bluff or else they would be wiped out of the surface at least.

Nevertheless, she took a few seconds to breathe and rest. The cyborg may be recovering as well. Introduction wasn't her forte but she needed to acknowledge the blonde's involvement in the fight. He simply sprung out of nowhere and without his intervention, she might have not beaten the enemy.

Tatsumaki stood up now that she has recovered a little of her energy.

 _Dammit. I'm bad in introductions and giving thanks._

Before Tatsumaki even said a word, a massive deafening explosion happened on the topside of the ship. She wasn't prepared for this and she found herself kneeling again on the ground.

 _What the hell?! There's a delayed explosion?!_

When she looked up, two massive beams of yellow and blue erupted from the ship in an angle. At the opposite end, a gust of wind tore through the sky in an insanely large scale that it parted the clouds above. She knew who was capable of doing that but the resulting clash threatened to destroy the ship or even below it.

Things died down eventually and Tatsumaki was able to stand up.

 _What the hell was that?_

The cyborg was already on his feet staring up towards the ship. Miraculously, the ship was still floating despite the damage it had received from below and on it. That was some durability if Tatsumaki was concerned.

The ship in question began to fall out of the sky as if to prove otherwise. Tatsumaki wasted no time flying away and so does the cyborg. He jumped all the way out without much hassle with the added boost from his thrusters.

Well, at least she won't have to burden herself in carrying him around.

The ship crashed on the ground and shockwave rippled everywhere. Tatsumaki nearly lost her balance when the shockwave caught her. During the crash, Tatsumaki had lost sight of the cyborg. Perhaps he was blown off by the resulting shockwave. He surely wouldn't die from that.

When everything was clear and not shaking anymore, Tatsumaki went close to the alien ship. It was surprisingly much bigger up close than she thought it would be. It easily covered a city and it was taller than any skyscraper in City A. With enough time and rest, she could lift it off ground but it wasn't time for that.

Tatsumaki saw a door blasted open. She went near it and saw many alien of different types and colors scampering outside. Using her powers, she quickly bundled them together to foil their escape.

"We surrender!" a termite like alien begged. "We won't fight!"

"Yeah, yeah! Just what he said!" a slug alien followed. "Just don't kill us!"

"We won't escape even if we wanted to! We can't fight like the others!"

 _These aliens are way different from before,_ Tatsumaki thought. She stood on a toppled building and tied the aliens together with iron chains using her powers. Restraining them with just her powers was tiring after all she went through.

"Miss Tatsumaki!" Tatsumaki turned around and saw a black muscular man not that far away. Darkshine, she recalled. He was hollering to the other Class S heroes too. They were fine after all. One man particularly stood out given his blue hair.

 _Sweet Mask decided to visit, huh?_

"You're an esper, am I correct?" Tatsumaki was startled by the voice.

 _Tsk. Flashy Flash. He got here quick._

"Do you have a habit in spooking people?" Tatsumaki complained. "For your question, yes. I already said that earlier if you forgot about it already."

"I wasn't aware we have an esper in our ranks until today." Flash said. "This is unrelated to the present crisis but I've been meaning to talk to you once I've learned you are one. I've been trailing a lot of monsters recently and got some vague intel from them. They are still rumors but I believe they point to something credible."

 _For someone so fast, he talks a lot._

"What are you getting at?" Tatsumaki asked already impatient.

"Some monsters have been conducting some sort of activity from some unknown place. They are gathering to form a group, it seems. For some reason, they have been targeting espers just like you." The word 'esper' piqued Tatsumaki's interest.

"I don't know anything else except for a name so listen well." Flashy Flash suddenly appeared beside Tatsumaki. "Your enemy is Psykos,", he continued. "Be careful."

 _Psykos? What -?_

Before Tatsumaki spoke, Flashy Flash was gone.

 _He just gonna leave like that? Anyway, Psykos? Who's that? And why espers? Are they the ones who took Fubuki?_

"You captured the aliens, Miss Tatsumaki." Child Emperor said, robotic spider legs on his back as support. The other Class S heroes has arrived as well. They don't look like they've been through hell, except for Bang who was shirtless, exposing his well-toned muscles that didn't match his age.

"Professor Bofoi's robot is over there inspecting the ship." The boy genius continued, staring at a figure walking towards the ship. "From the looks of it, he might salvage what he can from it. I guess he won't go here in person just as Blast. Of all the adults, they're the one who's gone."

A humanoid robot was walking towards the wrecked ship.

Metal Knight had no interest whatsoever in the Association meetings, but this ship's sudden appearance from out of nowhere intrigued him. No blimp from any radar nor warning signs that he could have picked up. Its ballistics technology might be a little crude for a spacefaring civilization.

But that teleportation. It simply teleported out of nowhere. The mothership might be damaged beyond repair but if he could reverse engineer its technology, it would serve very useful indeed. It wouldn't be in any large scale to transport a ship since it needed a ton of energy. In small scale, perhaps his own body, he could manage that.

A body that could teleport out of nowhere.

The prospect was so irresistible that his fingers was slightly shaking from anticipation. He might need to calm himself or else his control of robots from across the world would slip. People in G-City might notice that robots were twitching all of a sudden.

Metal Knight controlled himself in a split second. He couldn't care less that a city was just wiped out. No one would miss them. Such filthy bureaucrats, fat businessmen and spotty politicians that placed their faith and expensive houses near the Headquarters in thinking that they would be safe. It was added burden in the Association's needs and it was better for them to be wiped out. Their coffers would have lessened without their "donations" but the destruction of a city would gain worldwide sympathy so their losses weren't that felt. They might even gain more support now that an attack could happen anywhere, and other cities would stake their security in the Association even more.

As for the Hero Association, they would probably go to him to improve or build their headquarters to strengthen security. It was such a coincidence that City B was already destroyed beforehand by a mutant giant that coincidentally also popped out of nowhere. He could annex the two and build the headquarters in the middle of it using the materials from the wrecked cities and the invading ship without those leeches beside his creation.

Everything was falling in his lap.

Tatsumaki eyed the spaceship _. In the hands of a person like him, I don't think it would be any different._

"I thought Lord Boros never lost." An alien said.

"Are you sure? No one really saw him." Another alien replied. "But if so, then we're good as dead."

"Are we going to be killed? We just followed orders, right?"

"We're just the ship's crew. Maybe we can talk our way out of this."

"Quiet, fools! Now's not the time to talk – wait, someone's approaching –"

"Incinerate." A burst of flame burned the tied aliens to ashes, to the heroes' surprise.

"What the!" Darkshine exclaimed. "Who are you and why did you do that!" Tatsumaki too looked surprised how the cyborg casually went to the aliens and burned them without batting an eye.

"I simply ended their lives for the atrocities they have committed. They do not deserve to live." The cyborg said in a monotone. "There are no more alien survivors according to my readings. I am no longer needed here. I must be off." He turned around and briskly walked away.

"At least someone here is not a disappointment." Sweet Mask finally said.

Tatsumaki narrowed her eyes.

"I've been terribly disappointed with the performances of these so-called heroes." Sweet Mask continued. "It makes me want to vomit. But that man. This disaster today may not be all that bad. Perhaps he would be more promising unlike some _amateur_ hero."

Sweet Mask walked away to the direction where the cyborg was going.

"Best leave it, Miss Tatsumaki." Bang said.

"Don't worry, gramps." Tatsumaki answered. "I don't give a damn what he says."

 _But that cyborg. Despite fighting with him, he fights with unrelenting rage and unfeeling coldness. Doing things just because it must be done. Makes me remember how I was before that baldy –_

 _That baldy…_

 _Saitama!_

x-x-x

After the fight that made him literally going to the moon and back, Saitama found himself in the belly of the beast. A thought lingered in his mind more than he wanted to and before he knew what was up, the ship crashed down, embedding himself in the process. The ship was practically destroyed so he didn't need to find a formal way out anymore.

 _If there's a will, there's a way out,_ or so the saying goes if he remembered it correctly.

And so, he punched his way out. This wasn't the first time he used his fists to get out of situations.

While literally punching his way out, there was this thought that stayed in his mind. It made him feel rather… sad.

Sad? That wasn't the right word. More like disappointed. No, that was not it either. If he was to use a complicated word, it would be melancholic. Or blue.

He was… blue.

Why was he associating himself to a color? He wasn't wearing anything blue at the moment.

It doesn't make sense.

After a few impromptu tunneling, he was finally able to see daylight once again. It actually surprised him that he didn't unleash a strong punch that would blow half the ship. He certainly has strength to spare after the battle.

 _Liar._

 _It wasn't even a battle._

Blue. Ironic to think that was the color he fought earlier.

And now he was referring to himself as blue.

"Oh, I'm out." Saitama said with his usual nonchalance. He walked a few steps out of the dark and felt something tackle him. It nearly bowled him over.

"Why would you leave me alone like that!"

It was color green.

"Oh, Tatsumaki." Saitama answered calmly. "Well, we're done here. Let's go."

Tatsumaki let go of him realizing she was hugging him again out of instinct. "You haven't answered my question!"

"I got too excited, you know." Saitama replied and shrugged. "I got in a fight with this ship's boss and I got to say, maybe he's the strongest I've faced so far." Tatsumaki was surprised that he said that given how insanely powerful he was.

"The strongest you've faced so far? So, the prophecy was about this alien invasion?" Now that she thought about it, Saitama's glaring costume has been damaged and his cape was torn in half.

"I don't know about that but it turns out you can't trust prophecies to begin with. You can't even trust the weather forecast so why turn to prophecies?"

 _I don't think those two are related,_ Tatsumaki thought, her incredulity of the man going back full force.

"How about you? Did you do anything?"

"Of course, I did!" Tatsumaki answered. "I got to save some survivors and got into a fight with this weird alien thing. I even damaged the ship by bringing its bullets back so I did a plenty."

"That's good then." Saitama patted her head a few times. It took a few seconds before Tatsumaki registered what was happening.

"Hey! What are you doing!" she protested. Saitama retracted his hand back.

"Huh? Well, I felt like doing it. Something's wrong?"

"You don't pat someone's head all of a sudden!"

"Oh, I didn't know. Sorry. My bad." There was this smile from him again. Tatsumaki couldn't tell if it was his natural carefree smile or the one with genuine amusement. She instantly looked away before she got any ideas.

"Well, I – I didn't say it was… a bad thing. It actually felt… a little –"

"HEY! You two love birds!" Tatsumaki nearly exploded in embarrassment. She turned towards the voice and saw Metal Bat looking so smug with his bat slung over his shoulder. Some S Class heroes were there staring at them as if they were actors in a play.

 _Oh… god…_

"Why don't you two go back there where it's dark, if you get my drift," Metal Bat said, heavily implying something.

"YOU CAN SHUT UP, POMPADOUR DELINQUENT!" Tatsumaki spat back.

"What did ya jus' call me!? How 'bout I bust your head with this bat here?!" his bat floated out of his reach.

"How did this man boarded the ship? He's just a Class B, right?" Child Emperor asked but was completely ignored.

"Oh, you mean this bat?" Tatsumaki telekinetically threw the bat as far as she can. "Now fetch, you dog faced good-for-nothing!"

Aghast for his weapon to be thrown away from him, Metal Bat cracked his knuckles. "That does it! I will show you I can smash someone up without using my bat!" Puri Puri Prisoner had once again taken the words for something totally out of context.

"Then go ahead and try, pillbug head!"

"Cut it out, you two." Bang intervened. "You two are both heroes of the Association. Can we just call it a day after all that happened? There are still so much to do other than to fight with each other."

Metal Bat spat on the ground. "Tsk. I still have unfinished business with that Smug Face. You got lucky this time." Tatsumaki glared at him.

"Hmph!" Tatsumaki grabbed Saitama's hand and dragged him away. "Let's get out from these weirdos! I'm hungry. I want some takoyaki."

"Are there still takoyaki stands in this city?" Saitama asked like a boy being dragged by a parent.

"I don't care! Besides, I know someone who will give us for free."

"Really?! For free? What are we waiting for! Let's go!" Saitama quickened his pace and Tatsumaki never did notice how her hand was still holding Saitama's hand as they both left.

Silver Fang sighed in relief after averting another disaster. He couldn't help but smile at the two.

 _Troublemakers and their youth._

"That was… weird." Metal Bat finally said. "Oh! I need to find my bat first!" He was about to go search for it when Watchdog Man appeared, the bat in his mouth.

"Here you go, Metal Bat." The costumed hero said after putting it down.

"Uhm, thanks?"

"You're welcome." Watchdog Man ran away as if nothing had happened.

"…What just happened?"

Bang walked away after all the mess he had been through for today. His back hurts, Charanko might be panicking in the dojo for his master's welfare, and having Saitama once again saving the day. He may be an old man but even a monkey could figure out that the only person who could unleash such an attack earlier was none other than Saitama. He had seen how Saitama destroyed the meteor. It was no coincidence how he was in the ship when all of this was happening. If this was what Saitama wanted, he has no right to intrude just what he had done when people began to dislike him during the meteor incident.

Still, Bang got the feeling there was more to this. It seemed too convenient and he had lived a long life to expect that the worse was still yet to come. There were still loose ends in his part and far be it for the whole world to end before he corrected it himself. He just hoped that the prophecy doesn't concern that one particular prodigal student. He was his burden to carry, not anyone else's. If it comes to it, perhaps that would be the day to call it quits for his age.

Looking back, there were also two different individuals who piqued his interest. One was a very fierce and hard-headed stubborn girl while the other was way too passive and too strong for his own good bald man. A change was looming in the horizon and maybe those two may have a part in it as well. The strongest esper and the strongest hero.

The bald and the esper.

Has a nice ring to it?

The old man chuckled to himself.

 _I'm too old for this._

* * *

 **Author's Corner: Here's the long-awaited ending of season 1 of this story! I'm terribly sorry if I posted this very, very, very late! Things got rough on my side that made me unable to focus on this one. Given the chapter's length, it should have been posted a long time ago so I'm very sorry for that.**

 **This is my first story that I actually finished with multiple chapters! It's been fun tinkering with canon and how things would have gone with Tatsumaki entering the picture instead of Genos. She's more fleshed out here than Genos in the actual series. Her knowing Saitama little by little contrast to Genos who practically worship Saitama at first sight. I think that Tatsumaki has changed in the course of the story so there would be some OOC moments.**

 **Anyway, I do thank everyone who left a review and followed/favorited this story. I NEVER thought this story would balloon all of a sudden. It still gives me the vibes knowing that people are reading this. It was just a pet project of a what-if and I believe it started as a what-if but then I changed it as a rehash/retelling since it's more close to that.**

 **If I listed everyone who have followed/favorited, I would require a credit reel that would be a wall of text. You know who you are and I'm really thankful that you have enjoyed this story despite its wrong grammar and misspellings. That said, I'm looking for a proofreader since I have finished the whole thing. No matter what I do, there are still many errors that falls through the cracks. I would be most grateful if this story is somewhat cleaned. I'm not familiar about this beta reader and such so just PM me if you'll be up to the task.**

 **Again, thank you that you have reached this far! Season 1 is over so better wait when season 2 will ever come. I know that feeling too. Season 2 of the anime can't get here soon enough and perhaps this story here would continue like in season 1.**

 **This has been a long ass author's note so any reviews or feedback are greatly appreciated! See you when I see you! Ciao!**

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"It has been ten days after the alien invasion of City A."

"…"

"As for our reports, Metal Knight had used the mothership and the remaining rubble to build the Association's new HQ. He made it more impenetrable than before and his design made it more accessible for heroes to take action all around the globe. It only took him 7 days to build a fully operational base - as expected of the Association's trump card."

"…"

"They already have plans building a new one before but they don't know where. It seemed they let the meteor go unchecked so they can build in City Z instead. If that was the case, it would have been interesting to say the least."

"…Interesting indeed."

"In other news, the Hero Hunter has begun his move. Should we intercept him first before he gets to a lot of trouble? He is a self-proclaimed monster after all so maybe we should –"

"Not yet. He hasn't proven anything other than be a thorn in the heroes' side. The Association has many heroes in their disposal so he's a good distraction. Let him have some fun for the meantime."

"Of course. Speaking of heroes, there was a mysterious cyborg that showed in the invasion. He was responsible in not only helping out in fending off the aliens, he killed all the remaining alien survivors. It's likely the Association would seek him out to acquire his services."

"It wouldn't matter who they recruit. It makes no difference."

"For our part, we did retrieve an alien corpse atop the ship before Metal Knight had salvaged it all. No one saw us. It seemed he was the cause of the explosion that brought the ship down. He may have been a powerful being once before he sustained this much damage."

"…"

"He is doing well I see. The others are still skeptical if we should take him in. From the looks of it, he might have been defeated by Blast or King."

"It isn't Blast. If so, there wouldn't even be a corpse left. The strongest man. He may pose a problem but we will deal with him eventually."

"Although this is quite stating the obvious, the other members are waiting. They are quite an impatient lot and not used to –"

She waved a hand as if to dismiss. "I'll be there in a minute. It's not that they can escape when I called them here."

"Of course," the girl nodded and left, the dead flower on her head swaying stiffly.

The procedure took some time before she could finally regain some control. She clenched and unclenched her hands to make sure there were no complications. Her research had never failed her.

She slowly stood up, making sure the white fur coat draped over her won't fall off. Amusing that she still kept it after all this. Old habits really die hard, she supposed. She took careful steps towards a tank that housed a desiccated limbless man hooked up by a lot of wires to monitor his status. The only change so far was his long pale white hair has a tint of pink in it. Overall, it would take some time before he could be useful. She could still sense some power from him even at his poor condition.

A thought of vengeance, and a bit of… dismay.

"A war is coming…"

A heartbeat.

"It is time for a new order to rise…"

The woman took out her glasses, the glass tank reflecting her heterochromatic eyes. The colors of her eyes were quite peculiar: her left eye was emerald green while the other was sky blue.

She smiled.


End file.
